The First Child
by Anerali
Summary: In which, out of all people she could have been born as, she got the worst of the worst. SI!Fem-Rido. Drabblefic. (Discontinued)
1. chapter 1

**AN: I literally could not stop thinking about this ever since I read** **Inferno by BloolovesBl** **ue, Nightmare's Sweet Lullaby by DrizzleMadness and A Transdimensional Scum Villain's Tale by Gav. (You won't find the last one on this website- just Google it!)**

 **Anyway, Vampire Knight is owned by Matsuri Hino, not me.**

Being born is far more traumatizing than anyone can ever truly describe. From the shock of being thrust out into the cold to almost bruising grips on her body, it's really no wonder she went into a panic attack.

"It's a girl!" Someone announced.

... _What did I just hear?_

She felt herself get wrapped in some sort of blanket and placed into a warm embrace. She looked up, and saw a blurry form of a gia- _no. No. Please don't tell me I was just born._

"Rido." A warm, happy voice says to her. "Your name will be Rido Kuran."

... _Noooooooo!_


	2. Familiar

**Familiar**

As a baby, Rido rarely sees her parents. The only one ever there is her father's familiar- a cat with midnight blue fur and icy blue eyes. He has a tendency to stare at her. Without blinking.

Now Rido knows it's her father's way of watching over her and being there to attend to her needs, but damn if it isn't creepy. On the other hand, he's efficient. He's somehow able to change her diaper without her noticing and whenever she's hungry, he'll press his forehead against her lips to pass energy.

All in all, he's not a bad companion. At least, he cuddles.


	3. Eye

**E** **ye**

It took an embarrassingly long while before Rido noticed her right eye is blind.

Blind in a different sense anyway.

The only thing that ever appears there is black- black and spheres of a pulsing, red color. It doesn't take her long to realize that those are people- or rather, vampires.

And isn't it fascinating.

Rido examines her mother's sphere in contentment, her other eye closed so she doesn't get double vision. It's a beautiful red hue, dark and warm looking with a powerful pulse inspite of her stoic expression. She picks Rido gently and tightens her grip as Rido cooes at her.

The babe tries to reach for her mother's sphere, softly babbling in frustration when her hand meets an obstruction. She opens her other eye, and meets a horrifying realization: the sphere just so happens to be in her mother's chest!


	4. Amusement

**Amusement**

 _WHAT._

 _WHY!!!???_

Rido all but rips her hands off her mother's chest, desperately pouring brain bleach on the fact she was groping her mother a moment ago. She peeks up at the lady in question, only to see her lips slightly upturned and her red eyes dancing in amusement.

"Is my Rido embarrassed?" She asked lowly, fluttering her eyelashes at the last word. Then casually forcing Rido's head to rest on her chest. "Don't be, you're a girl too, after all."

 _MOTHER!!!!! That's not something to laugh about!!!_


	5. Queen

**Queen**

"Rin." A voice smoothly cuts in the atmosphere. The mother and daughter look to the door, one elated at the sight of her husband and the other losing herself further into embarrassment. He closes the door behind him and dismisses his familiar. "Don't break our first child."

"But she's so cute!"

"And she'll be the Vampire Queen." He tacks on. "She can't do that if she loses _all_ of her dignity."

"Dignity, shmignity!" Rin huffs, shifting Rido onto one arm and whacking her husband with the other. "She'll have to be bold and downright shameless before anyone will take her seriously! Stupid sexist men will _always_ be an obstacle for our princess."


	6. Denial

**Denial**

Rido firmly refuses to believe her ears, her eyes and her mind. She is not a yandere pedobear, and she will _NEVER_ be a yandere pedobear. In fact, a more likely scenario would be that she's an ancestor- one that Rido would be named after, just like Yuuki's brother had been named after Kaname!

 _Ahahahahahahaha..._

She knows she's being a typical idiot in denial, but how else can one act when they have the _same_ shitty name as a yandere pedobear!!!!

Damn, if she actually is him, how is she going to avoid the engagement with revenge lady? What should she do with the ancestor yandere? Plus, that cute-ass son of her's that'll probably never exist because genderbend!?!?!?!?!?

... _I should probably stop here... my mind's gonna break from existential crisis..._


	7. Pureblood

**Pureblood**

"Kanae, I think we've lost her." Rin tells her husband as their daughter expresses a number emotions before simply shutting down.

"I think so too." He sighs softly. "My dear, her lessons will have to begin next week."

"What?" She hisses sharply. Her wine red eyes balefully glare into his icy blue ones. "She's only four months old! You can't expect her to do anything- she hasn't even said her first word yet!"

"I know, but-"

 _No one will care._

Rin flinches at the implications. Indeed, not one vampire will care a smidge of her age. A pureblood is a pureblood and, therefore, must be controlled in some way or another. She just hoped Rido would have more time to be free.


	8. First

**First**

They didn't show themselves again as the week passed by. Rido knows they're busy ruling an empire and all, so she can't help but be glad she has a mature mind that doesn't mind isolation. Quite frankly, any other baby could have broke from this kind of enviroment.

A creak catches her attention. Rido looks over and greets her father's smile with her own.

"The first thing you must learn, Rido, is telekinesis." Kanae tells her as he picks her up from her crib. He leaves the room with her in tow for the first time and curiousity swells in Rido as they pass through the unfamiliar place.


	9. Target

**Target**

The pair enter a training room of sorts, complete with weapon racks and practice dummies. Kanae grabs a chair from out of nowhere, places it infront of the targets and sits on it with Rido on his lap. Rido looks up at him for instructions.

"The best way I can describe it is pressure." Kanae says quietly. He stretches his arm out and points at a dummy. His hand slowly turns over, the target lifting into the air and turning upside down in tandem of his hand. Then he bends his elbow so his finger goes up and the target, too, lifts further up in the air. Kanae retracts his fingers into a fist, then snaps his hand open! The target bursts into tiny pieces, but still stays midair. He lets his arm down, and the pieces fall.


	10. Control

**Control**

Rido frowns at the fallen pieces in uncertainty, remembering all the times Kaname, or even Yuuki, broke their walls in anger or agitation. There's no doubt in her mind Rido can do it as well, but... _can I really achieve the same level of control my father showed?_

"You must remember to keep your emotions under control, Rido." Both arms wrap around her and tightens just for a second. "If you let them run wild, you can harm those around you."

He takes her hand in his and says, "I'm not asking you to do the same as I did just now, but I do want you to be aware how much more powerful you can be when you control yourself. What I want you to do now is simple: crush one of the dummies."


	11. Failure

**AN: Welp, things are a lot easier when you only focus on one thing at time, and as for Juuri... she will be here. But it will take a decade or so... maybe even a millenium, who knows?**

 **Failure**

They spend the day glaring at a dummy while Rido flaps her arm around.

 _It was a complete and utter failure._

She almost snapped at that stupid dummy that refuses to move, but Kanae's words are always in the back of her mind, reigning in her temper.

"That's enough." Kanae orders tiredly. He kisses her forehead as he stands and they head back to her room.


	12. Kiss

**Kiss**

"I take it Rido isn't a natural in telekinesis?" Rin enters the room as Kanae was setting a disgruntled Rido into her crib.

"No." He sighs tiredly and leans down to kiss Rido's head once more.

"That bad?" Rin frowns and reaches over to kiss Rido's cheek. She turns to him after and pulls him into a hug after- _you guessed it_ \- kissing his cheek. "You only get this needy when you're at the end of your rope."


	13. Brother

**Brother**

 _Well,_ sorry... Rido snarks, putting every effort she can to convey it in her gaze.

"Pfft..." Rin slaps her hand onto her mouth, a strange mix of giggles and snorts escaping from her palm. She gradually turns it into a polite cough, her ragged breaths the only thing giving her away. "Anyway, my brother had the same problem. If he was here, he can probably help."

"But-"

"But what?" Rin slyly grins at her husband. "Afraid to meet your father after so long?"


	14. Father

**Father**

 _What?_

 _What did I just hear from your mouth?_

"That's right, Little Rido." Rin purrs, leaning against the railing and closing in her face. "I'm your father's aunt! I ruled for couple millenium before your father was born."

"So she'll be teaching you the ropes in ruling." Kanae pipes in glumly. He hooks an arm around Rin's waist and quickly straightens her back up." _I_ was supposed to teach you how to use your powers. But _that's_ going to my father instead."


	15. Forgotten

**AN: The age thing will be adressed later. some hints will be dropped here and there until the reveal, but I hope you guys don't get turned off by the idea of a less than a year old kid learning how to kill!**

 **Forgotten**

 _Aha...ahahahahahahaha..._

Rido had forgotten about the incest. Because yes, with how much shit can happen and her identity crisis, one can forgot about the incest. Why, oh, why did she forget one of her main pet peeves about this world?

The only reason she even continued reading the manga, after finding out about _that,_ was to look at the pretty boys! One of which might not even exist in the future! Poor boy who had gotten possessed by his fucked up dad- her possible male counterpart. Who'll also sacrifice his nephew to his yandere ancestor.

 _Ah, hell! I forgot about that too!_


	16. Engrave

**Engrave**

"Rido." Rin smiles sweetly, a hint of poison and steel behind the facade. Rido's thoughts brought itself into a screeching halt. Her attention is solely on Rin Kuran. "I'm going to tell you something you must engrave into your very soul, understand?"

Rido nods gravely. The atmosphere is heavy, as if the air is holding its breath and staying as still as a statue.

"No matter what happens," Rin hisses and caresses Rido's cheek gently, "remember that you are _mine._ "

She looks at Rido closely, memorizing her every feature. "A Pureblood's path is rife with blood and despair. More often than not, you'll find yourself drowning and unable to take even a breath of fresh air. So you must hold on to this: you are _mine._ I am _yours._ You are Kanae's. Kanae is _yours._ Just as I am Kanae's and Kanae is mine. Every Kuran family member is there to be yours. Just as you are here to be theirs. Never forget them, and they will always be there for you to turn to in times of need."


	17. Glint

**Glint**

"Now," Rin straightens up again and turns to the forgotten husband, "I'll send a letter for Takeo to come over, alright?"

She pats Kanae's shoulder once and leaves the room without looking back. A glint enters his eyes as he gazes into Rido's eyes. "We probably won't be able to see you again until Chichi-ue arrives. And while he may teach you how to use telekinesis and other things that may not come naturally to you, Rido is _mine_. I won't let him teach you anthing else, and I'll be _damned_ if I let him treat you like anything he treated me when he taught me how to use my abilities."


	18. Saccharine

**Saccharine**

Two weeks passed by quietly. The sun was almost fully gone when Rin barged into her room. No, she didn't enter the room normally- Rido meant she literally _slammed_ the door open while loudly vocalizing some sort of song... badly.

 _Poor door..._ Rido commiserates when she sees the door's hinges break. _Died trying to keep itself upright when an elated Vampire Queen used her vampiric strength on it._

"Ri~do~!" Rin calls saccharinely. It was at that moment Rido noticed a huge briefcase hiding behind Rin's royal blue skirt and got a very, _very_ bad feeling. "Your uncle's going to arrive around midnight~! So let's use this time to dress up for him, hmm~?"


	19. Mirror

**Mirror**

Dress after dress, the next ones bearing more frills than the dresses prior to it. They itch. _All_ of them itch.

"Ah! Yaay~! The mirror's here, Rido!" Rin clapped twice. Kanae enters the room with a full-bodied mirror in tow and sets it in a corner of the room. Rin picks Rido up in her arms and stands infront of the mirror. Rido can barely hold in her scream.


	20. Coincidence

**Coincidence**

 _Once is a chance._

Rido only knew one character named Rido Kuran, especially in this vampire universe. But she dismissed it, she might be some unknown ancestor he'll be named after.

 _Twice is a coincidence._

Rido already knows her right eye is... unique. She just didn't know it's the same exact color as her father's. Just as she didn't know her left eye is the same as her mother's.

All of this is enough to shake her. But the one thing she knows that will pull her over the edge would be the birth of Haruka. Because everything else before that can be written off.


	21. Ready

**Ready**

Rin finally settled on a modest, dark violet silk dress with navy blue lace designs on the skirt. She puts on black mini socks on Rido's feet, then follows up with beige, leather shoes. By the time she finished, Rin and Kanae suddenly jolt in surprise. Their heads whip to a certain direction.

"Chichi-ue's carriage has arrived." Kanae says grimly, his peaceful expression turning into a battle-ready one. He ushers Rin and Rido out the room and lead them into yet another unfamiliar corridor, twisting and turning until they reach a massive set of doors. "Wait here. I'll greet him in."

He gently kisses Rido's temple and kisses his wife on the lips, before slipping out and closing the door behind him.


	22. Analyze

**Analyze**

The first thing Rido noticed about Takeo when she first saw him was that he's big. As in twice the size of Kanae big. The next thing she noticed was that he's a full head taller than him- which wasn't saying much, Kanae is only a couple inches taller than his wife after all. The last thing she noticed is that Takeo is bald. Not a single hair follicle is visible on his head.

He, too, looks to be analyzing her.

His wine red eyes are looking over her every feature, his calculating gaze lingering over her right eye just for a millisecond more than the others and he snaps his eyes over to Rin sharply. "She's not even a year old."


	23. Fled

**Fled**

"Kanae," Rin croons ever so softly, "be a dear and put our Rido to rest, will you?"

Rido's father wordlessly swept Rido from her mother's arms and immediately fled to her room. As soon he closed the (miraculously!) fixed door, he summoned his familiar and slipped back out. A minute of silence passed by.

 _BOOM!!!_


	24. Abrupt

**Abrupt**

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THAT!!! YOU DON'T _EVER_ INSULT MY CHILD!!!!! GET THAT THROUGH YOUR FUCKING THICK SKULL!!!!!!!!"

Rido ignores the cat's purrs and nudges, choosing to stare at the door. Rin's temper is formidable. She's a bit surprised Takeo's lasting this long- the sun is actually starting to come up right now. But then again, they are siblings.

"SHE'S JUST A BABY!!!!! JUST WHAT DO YOU EVEN EXPECT HER TO DO!!!???"

"SHE'S AWARE, DAMMIT, SHE'S AWARE!!!"

All became silent, making Rido almost believe the shouting match earlier was simply in her imagination. The cat nudges her once more, his purr loud in the abrupt silence. This time Rido curls up into the cat, burying her face into his fur and allows his purr lull her to sleep.


	25. Glare

**Glare**

When Rido was beginning to awaken, she could feel a pair of eyes on her. She thought nothing of it- the cat is probably staring again. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of Takeo... looming... over her crib...

 _What in the actual fuck, you creep!!!???_

Rido sits up as quickly as she could and looked around, trying to look for a flash of midnight blue fur or a pair of icy blue eyes to no avail. When she finally looked back up to her uncle/grandfather, she somehow got locked into a glaring contest.

 _I don't care that you and I are related, I don't feel safe around you!_


	26. Affirmation

**Affirmation**

"We're beginning your lessons today." Takeo tells her as he reached in to pick her up. His hold was surprisingly gentle and his skin felt like a furnace, making her lean into him to ward off the cool environment. "Now, I understand telekinesis doesn't come to you naturally."

Rido nodded once in affirmation.

"And you already know I had the same problem, as well."

Another nod.

"Good."


	27. Color

**Color**

"I know your right eye is... blind." Takeo mutters as he pulls a chair from thin air and sits on it infront of the dummies. Rido's jaw clench and she took deep, meditative breaths to stay calm. "Your father is blind, too."

 _What?_

"That type of eye color is actually... special. It allows you to identify whose human, vampire and vampire hunter. It also lets you see one's intentions and whether the person is alive or not."

 _Again, what?_


	28. Neglect

**Neglect**

"But you," Takeo continues, "only have one eye in this color. So unlike your father, you won't have to constantly let out pulses of your power to see your surroundings properly."

 _Shut up and let me reconcile with the fact my father's blind first, dammit!!!_

"What I want you to do now is- oi, why are you hitting me?" Takeo catches Rido's pudgy wrist and looks at her properly. "...Please don't tell me Kanae neglected to tell you about this tidbit."

 _Fuck yeah, he did!_


	29. Common

**Common**

"Kanae probably doesn't know about your eye," Takeo sighs heavily and massages his temple with a hand. "And knowing Rin, she probably keeps forgetting to tell him. I'll make sure he knows after this session, alright?"

 _Yeah, yeah. Father will probably be overjoyed we have something in common, though. He may be quiet, but he has the same air Kaien projected whenever Yuuki did something cute._

"He'll probably be clingy for a while, so be ready to bear with it."


	30. Shy

**Shy**

"Now, I want you to look at your core." Takeo instructs. "Observe it. Look at how it moves and try to know what it feels like. The core is an honest little thing, to know your core inside and out is to know yourself best."

Rido looks down and does as he told her. It's a deep, powerful red color like her mother's, but it's small and compact. It seems shy and when she mentally tried to reach out to it, it became even smaller and more compact.

She cooes a little and coaxed it to relax. The sphere tentatively loosens and lets wisps of red strings to circle and slither about. It became even warmer as time passed by and braver, letting loose a single string to slowly wrap around her finger. It was then Rido realized one single fact that escaped her notice. The pulse is actually her heartbeat.


	31. Vision

**Vision**

"Got a hang of it?" He asks. Rido nodded happily and looks up at him. Takeo smirks a little. "Good. Now I want you to make a single string reach out and wrap around _that._ "

He points to one of the dummies and Rido immediately imitates him, cajoling that little string around her finger to move torwards the target. It's difficult, not ot the sense of it disobeying, but because she's getting double vision from using both eyes at once. Normally she keeps one of them closed for this exact reason and now she's getting a headache from it.


	32. Constrict

**Constrict**

The little string moved at such an impossibly turtle pace, Rido was legitimately surprised it actually reached the target. She lightly slaps the sausage hand wrapped around her torso and he jerks a little.

"Wha- you got it?" He asks blearily. Rido doesn't really mind, if she was in his place she probably would have fallen asleep too. So she nods and impatiently tries to get his next instructions. "Alright, spread your power around the dummy and constrict it. Imagine that target in the palm of your hand and squeeze it to the point it the shatters."


	33. Bruise

**Bruise**

It obeyed immediately, Rido can feel the wood creaking and cracking before it completely shattered from the pressure.

 _Success!!!!_

She cheers with her hands forming into pudgy little fists and punches the air with the-

 _Ow. Ow! What the fuck did I just-_ "You punched me." Takeo states bluntly, raising a hand to cup his chin and soothe the ache before dropping back down. "You actually punched me."

... _Whoops._ She looks up in time see the skin briefly turn purple before healing. _Did I bruise him? That wasn't on purpose, I swear!_


	34. Reminder

**Reminder**

"Don't worry." Takeo heaves a sigh. "I know it wasn't on purpose."

She felt relieved he's the perceptive type, mainly because she can feel his muscles under his clothes. And they mean business. Nothing is soft under there and it's kinda scary to think about.

"Ah! You haven't fed yet, have you?"

 _Now that you mention it... Yeah. I_ _haven't. Thanks a lot for reminding me. Now my stomach's gurgling uncontrollably and my throat's so parched it feels like sand paper! Really, I mean it._


	35. Aghast

**Aghast**

"Alright, put it here." He orders gruffly.He brings her face close and seals her lips with his, and her mind blanks.

Rido can feel herself crumbling and the wind carrying her ashes away. She stayed frozen for who knows how long until a sigh reaches her ears.

"Don't tell me you don't kiss to get energy!" Takeo stares at her aghast. "How the hell have they been feeding you then!?"


	36. Rampage

**Rampage**

"We fed her through Kanae's familiar." Rin walks into the training room and takes Rido into her arms. She pouts and wipes Rido's lips with her sleeve. "We wanted her first kiss to be special. We wanted to save it for her one and only equal, her future hubby~!!! Or wife, we won't judge."

Rin's eyes started watering in despair and she casts a withering glare on Takeo. Her arms tightened and Rido couldn't help but imagine G*dzilla rampaging across a city and shooting lasers from its mouth behind her.

" _And you..._ " Rin's gritting her teeth hard enough to echo throughout the room. _"You ruined it!!!! My Rido's precious first kiss!!!!!!!"_


	37. Punch

**Punch**

"Oh dear." Kanae's voice sounds out behind Rin, and next thing she knows, she's watching Rin and Takeo from Kanae's arms.

Rin whips out wrist guards from her skirt and quickly puts it on before leaping above her opponent. She punches down, only for him to dodge to the side. He quickly takes out a retractable rod from inside his sleeve and hits her stomach with it. She goes with the force, flipping so her feet land on the wall and uses it to leap to Takeo again. This time she blocks the rod with one arm and punches Takeo's chest with other.

She moves even closer and kicks out her leg to hit his crotch. He moved even faster this time to save his family jewels and twisted his arm to turn the rod into a scythe.

 _Wait._

 _Is that really?_


	38. Scythe

**Scythe**

 _It is!!! That's Juuri's and Yuuki's weapon!!! And it's in the hands of..._ _a_ _big burly man who looks like he can win a macho contest..._

 _Oh kami, I can't unsee this._

Takeo swings the blade in Rin's direction, she ducked under it and Takeo used the opportunity to bring his leg up- making it look like he made a 180 degree vertical split!- before bringing it down with a force that Rido can only imagine as Thor's hammer.

She quickly sidestepped it and aimed a punch at his side. His foot _whirled_ from its arc and managed to block her fist. He brings the foot down onto the ground and swings the scythe once more. Rin dodged to the side again and Takeo hooked the scythe's blade to the ground and brings his entire body over the pole and knees her stomach.

 _He looks like he can compete in a rhythmic gymnastics competition and make it to the finals..._


	39. Disillusioned

**Disillusioned**

Rido doesn't really known whether she should feel disillusioned or... _or what_. Personally, she thought that scythe was only used by women. Dainty women.

And the array of flexibility he's showing is actually quite impressive. Especially since she only seen that kind of flexibility from gymnasts or, better yet, from cats.

"I hope you two have already gotten your anger out of your system." Kanae drawls out, making the two freeze in their next attack. "I'd still like this room intact, after all. Now, if you'll excuse me... I'll be putting Rido to bed. Try not to make any earth shattering noise for the day, alright?"


	40. Blank

**AN: To the guest who suggested Rido to have a kid who Zero can pair up with... you have a wonderful idea that I am seriously considering to give a try. But the future will be a surprise- for you readers anyway. Nufufufufufu~**

 **Blank**

"I hope that wasn't traumatizing for you, Rido." Kanae tells her as he's nearing her room. "That was the first time you've seen your mother snap."

He shifts her onto one arm and opens the door. Once he enters the room and closes the door behind him, a cat comes out of his shadow. Rido remembered then and there that her father is actually blind.

She brings her left arm up to touch his eyelids, but misjudges the force behind it and ends up slapping his right eye.

"Ow." He says in a very unconvincing tone. "What was that for, Rido?"

She babbles softly and strokes the blank eye under the palm, then moves her hand and does the same to the other.

"Ah." Kanae's eyes widen a bit in realization. He moves closer and brushes a kiss across her forehead. "Chichi-ue told you?"


	41. Guide

**Guide**

"It has always been this way, so I tend to forget other people don't see things the way I do." Kanae leans against one of the only two furnitures of the room- her crib. "But yes, I am essentially blind. Why did Chichi-ue tell you this?"

Rido pats his eye again then grabs one of his hands and practically slaps it to her right eye. She then guides his hand against her chest and places her hand against his.

His eyes widen comically and he snaps his head down to "look" at the hand on him. Then he takes a shuddering breath and tears spring from his eyes.


	42. Sparkle

**Sparkle**

"My baby." Kanae's voice sounds dangerously close to breaking. His smile looks so happy and so, so very sweet, sparkles appeared and brutally attacked her. "My Rido."

He plastered her body against his front and gave her a tight hug. She did her best to relax her body, knowing the futility in struggling and going with the flow.

"I have so much to teach you on this." He says against her temple. "I'm so happy I get to share this with you. But right now, you need to rest. You've had a long day today, and I don't want to your tiny body to stress itself out even more."


	43. Teething

**Teething**

Rido doesn't remember when she fell asleep after that, only waking up and spending the next couple weeks refining her control with her grandfather. She's now able to use multiple- up to four actually, she's still struggling in adding a fifth one- strings at the same time. Then one day, her gums began to itch... badly.

This was when she realized she was on her seventh month, and that it was about damn time she started teething.

It's a painful experience. Her gums were irritated to the point it utterly burns and it's _getting worse by the second._

Rido can no longer concentrate on training _and_ she has to put in her full concentration into _not_ biting things.Specifically the cat whenever he places his head against her lips to pass energy.

Rido wouldn't wish this kind of pain on anyone... _literally._


	44. Finger

**Finger**

"My Little Rido," Rin croons, "where does it hurt? Let Mother see."

Rido obediently opens her mouth and Rin sticks her finger in and gently prods around a bit.

"Ah!" Rin takes her finger out and somehow takes out a handkerchief and wipes her finger on it. "Poor Rido's teething! No wonder you've been so irritable these days. Don't worry, Mother will make something to soothe Rido's poor gums, so please wait patiently."


	45. Temporary

**Temporary**

Three nights later, Rin came in and shoved Rido in a green dress with black lace sewn into the edge of her skirt and sleeves. At least this time, Rin knew what Rido looked in each dress, and so knew what she wanted.

"A family will stay with us until your teething is done." Rin finally tells her as they step out the room. "They have a son a little older than Rido, but just because he's older, doesn't mean he can boss Rido around. Remember, their stay is temporary- even more so than Takeo's."


	46. Three

**Three**

They enter a living room of sorts, complete with a fireplace and a couple bookshelves against one wall of the room. Just as they settled themselves in, the door opened, revealing Kanae and an entourage of three.

The man stood tall and proud, his face a complete copy of THE Hanbusa Aido from the manga series, except with deep blue eyes. The lady beside him is a full head shorter than he is and has dark brown hair and electric blue eyes. She has a beauty mark in the corner of her left eye. The boy- their son obviously- is a mix of the two. Bearing the father's hair color and his mother's eyes. He was standing- well, trying to- as tall and imposing as his father was.

"Rido, this the Aido family." Kanae introduced quietly. There was an unmistakable authority in his tone and his posture looked tensed. "The head of the family is Hibiki Aido. The Lady of the family is Atsuko Aido and their son is Nagamichi Aido. You three, this is my daughter and your future Queen, Rido Kuran."

And they kneeled.


	47. Knowing

**Knowing**

Rido is sincerely hoping they aren't expecting her to say "Rise."

Because she won't. She refuses to say anything until she has enough teeth to aid her in proper speech. _So no, Aido family, I won't tell you to rise._

"Rise."

 _Mother! My_ _hero~!_

"Allow me to give you a tour around." Kanae tells them, flashing Rido a knowing smile beforehand. The trio graciously accept the order and follow him.


	48. Subjects

**Subjects**

"The Aido family is here for one reason and one reason only, Little Rido." Rin informs her as they make their way to someplace. "They're to serve as our icehouse until your gums no longer irritate you!"

 _I don't know whether I should find it cruel or convenient the Aido family can be labeled as an icehouse._

"And not only that," Rin quickly adds on, as if she just realized how she sounded, "as their future Queen, Rido must know her subjects. We couldn't let you near anyone before, but since you have a hold of your powers, now we can!"

 _That sounded ominous. Why did that sounds ominous!?_


	49. Garden

**Garden**

They walk into a massive garden. It was filled with beautiful, blooming flowers of all types and colors. They grew like wildflowers, no rhyme or reason or pattern in sight. The garden was framed by pairs of fruit trees with its flowers in full bloom. The evening is slightly cool, the occasional breeze making each plant sway, if only slightly.

Three ravens form from her shadow and settle in a triangular formation on the ground. She settles Rido in between them and sets off to pick some flowers. When she returns, she sits down infront of Rido and begins making a flower crown.


	50. Crown

**AN: Look up the meanings for yourself! I'm not putting it up- _nope!_**

 **Crown**

"This is a gladiolus." Rin states as she held up a white flower. "It will be main centerpiece of your crown. These two pink carnations will be the supporting pieces of it. And the purple anemones will form the ring!"

She was weaving and braiding the stems in such an expertly manner, Rido can't help but question how many times Rin had done this. And who she did it for.

She can't imagine Rin making it for Takeo. But Rido thinks Rin had done it to Kanae- taking full advantage of his blindness and younger age. Especially since he looks so androgynous! The only reason Rido knew his gender was because of his voice!


	51. Raven

**Raven**

Rido doesn't pay much attention to the flower crown on her head, not finding much appreciation for it since she doesn't know what it looks like on her.

Instead, Rido took to playing with the three ravens flanking her.

They croak and coo and casually nudge their beaks against her. It's frankly adorable. One of them was even bent on keeping her in place, muttering, "Sit still, brat."


	52. Bond

**Bond**

"Rido should play with the next head of the Aido soon," Rin thinks to herself out loud. "The more they bond, the more solid his loyalty will be."

Rido looks up into Rin's wine red eyes. How is she supposed to play with a five year old? She can't even talk, yet! Much less use her own powers to entertain the two of them- it'll only emphasize how different they are.

"Maybe we'll train you two when you're old enough! Nothing will build camaraderie like being tor- I mean, training side by side!"

 _Don't even think about it!!! I heard you- you did that on purpose!_


	53. Suggestion

**Suggestion**

"Maybe we'll get him to babysit you?" Rin suggests tentatively. "Gaining a brother-sister like bond might instill a familial loyalty that would be impossible to break for him?"

Memories of how doting he was to Hanabusa filled Rido's mind. It was a blurry memory, she doesn't even remember what made him cling, but it was enough for Rido to accept Rin's idea.

"How about a marriage contract!? It'll be impossible for him to get anything by you, right!?"

 _NO!!!!_


	54. End

**End**

After calming Rin down from putting through a marriage contract- _Are you really willing to sell your own daughter to marriage just to ensure loyalty for her!!!??? What about all your talk on the hubby, wifey stuff???-_ Rido let Rin know she wanted to go back inside.

She couldn't quite get her expression from frowning, the ludicrous suggestion still echoing in the back of her mind. If Nagamichi married Rido, it'll be the end of everything as she knows it.

Sure it'll get her out of engagement from revenge lady, but that's just shifting the problem! And that'll place unnecessary burden on the poor boy. Plus, Hanabusa wouldn't exist in the future.

 _And THAT is a big NO!_


	55. Offering

**Offering**

The next night, Rido wore a deep burgundy dress that squeezed her torso uncomfortably. She stared at the nervous boy as unblinkingly and unceasingly the cat next to her is. They're in the living room, spending some quality "alone" time together due to her mother's machinations.

The soothed gums began to itch again, making Rido look away from the boy and make a face. A move in her peripheral catches her attention and she looks up to see the teaspoon she's been using to soothe her gums. The tip was frozen once more, and the handle was facing her in some sort of peace offering.

 _I can accept that._


	56. Title

**Title**

Rido takes the teaspoon, warning Nagamichi off any unnecessary actions with her eyes. His electric blue eyes look down in submission and he says, "Hime."

 _...ugh. Fucking titles. Why do I have the feeling training you out of it would be even more difficult than training your future son not to fangirl?_

Rido hums in acknowledgement and pats the cushion beside her.

Then in response, Nagamichi's eyes water and his mouth twitches in an effort not to smile as he repeats her title, " _Hime..._ "

 _WHY!!!???_


	57. Contemplate

**Contemplate**

Rido subsequently ignores his puppy look, and focuses on the matter at hand. She needs to reach out and somehow gain the foundation of his loyalty. The puppy look earlier doesn't count, it's too new and too shaky to rely on.

She runs a hand along the familiar's sleek fur, desperately wishing for something fluffy to hold on to. Rido holds in a heavy sigh and contemplates moving to the floor. She can stand and walk with the support of something- toddler/baby grip is an amazing thing that shouldn't underestimated. But she can't do it by herself, yet.

It's too late to act like a helpless baby who'll look up to him as her hero, but Rido wouldn't actually want to act like that anyway- too many variables, plus if she sucked at manipulating people in her old life, she'll suck in this one as well.


	58. Potential

**AN: I know you guys are looking for fast updates on this fic, so I'm sorry for the slow updates in these sets of drabbles! It's just that Rido's thoughts and plans on survival are delicate little things that are difficult to put into words. Sometimes my mind reaches way too far ahead in the future and forgets the intricacies and details I need to put in! Plus, THIS Rido is one of my characters and I tend to empathize with her. All the uncertainty she's currently feeling? I'm feeling it too! It's very difficult for her to interact with him because she _knows_ how sensitive children can be, but she's only been around her parents and Takeo for a whole seven months, so it's awkward for her to be around a kid who's physically older, but mentally younger.*bows deeply***

 **Potential**

Nagamichi looks at Rido with expectant eyes, not noticing the stress he's putting on her. She stuffs the teaspoon in her mouth as delicately as she could and quietly scratches the cat's head. Then, she gets an idea. Rido takes the teaspoon out and turns to look at Nagamichi.

His sphere is a red little thing, a lighter hue than her mother's and her spheres. It looks strong, actually. Stable and lively. He already has a strong set of morals instilled in his very subconscious, and if she nurtures it, he can become a great leader under her command.

The problem is, she can't talk. And he's only staying here until her gums don't get irritated anymore. He didn't even give a dominant impression in her memories- in fact, she distinctly remembers thinking: _Ah, he's an uke._

Which makes her think his potential ability to lead had been never been nurtured, and therefore rotted into nothing.


	59. Intentions

**Intentions**

Rido quietly gestures the cat to go on the floor. He obeys immediately and she slides her body down, placing her hand on the cat's body and using him as support. She looks back at Nagamichi and gestures him to follow.

With wobbly steps, she managed to walk up to the table and grab the edge to support herself. The cat, realizing her intentions, quickly sprung itself onto the door handle and pushed it open. He returned to her side and she gratefully used his support once more.

Takeo will probably recognize his potential, especially since she's bringing him to Takeo.


	60. Gesture

**Gesture**

"Rido?"

The trio managed to find their way to the training room. Now, Rido doesn't mind the sight they're being greeted to, but she has a guest in tow. A _highly_ , impressionable guest.

She sends a string out, grabs his shirt from a nearby chair and throws it at his face.

"I understand." He sighs, grabbing the shirt and putting it on. "Why'd you bring him to me?"

Rido looks back at Nagamichi, gestures him to go down. He looks at her, confused but kneels down on the floor anyway. She reached out a hand and places it on his chest before looking back up at Takeo. She puts her hand back down amd gestures the boy to stand.

"Huh." Takeo says after a moment. "I'll take that into consideration."


	61. Mind

**AN: Thank you all for your continued support via comments! As for the guest who's suggesting Nagamichi as her potential mate in various ways... I'm sorry but she's not on the market just yet. Even though she's physically younger than him, Rido is mentally older and can only see him as a child. I will set up a poll, but only when they're older and she's interacted with the potential mates enough to know whether they're good together or not. And fyi, Rido is NOT bisexual. She is PANsexual. So the pairing path is a treacherous one, indeed.**

 **Mind**

"You're a lucky kid," Takeo tells Nagamichi afterwards. His eyes sharp and his frown apparent. "You know that?"

Rido can't help but feel relieved her word has some weight on him. That he's willing to try even though he can't see the spheres. Already, Rido can tell his mind is whirling with plans and training regimes.

It's a bit scary to think about. If her father's reaction to his training methods is put into stock, Takeo will be as bad as a military boot camp instructor, _at least._


	62. Confused

**Confused**

Nagamichi looks confused, making Rido feel sorry she threw him in the dark. Even Rin pales at the thought of being trained by Takeo. She knows he'll survive, but she doesn't really know how he'll take this training.

She gives an irritated whine when her gums start aching again. Her hand's twitching to move to her lips. She hates her body for acting like this, but she'll have to bear with it for now.

Rido ruthlessly suppresses a jolt when a beefy arm plucks her off the floor. She gives Takeo a frown, confused by his actions.

"I heard Kanae built an icehouse for Rin." Takeo states as he moves to the door, Nagamichi and the cat at his heels. "Let's go check it out."


	63. Silence

**AN: I think Hanabusa will always be Kaname's fangirl, no matter the circumstances. And so, would become even more fangirlish with the increased interactions.**

 **Silence**

Rido feels touched by Takeo's kindness, she really is. She's just frustrated she can't convey it properly. She will though, when her teeth finally settle in. She just has to wait patiently.

They take their time walking to their destination, keeping the boy beside them in mind. Takeo doesn't seem inclined to start a conversation to ease Nagamichi's obvious nerves, but Rido wouldn't have really bothered either. The silence between them actually feels too comfortable to break it.


	64. Relax

**Relax**

When they reach the icehouse, Takeo immediately heads inside and takes a small chunk of ice from a bucket. He pops it into Rido's waiting mouth.

"Don't swallow." Takeo orders her quietly. "You might choke."

Rido grunts in agreement and subsequently keeps the ice on her gums. Then they head to the garden and relax on the grass for most of the night.


	65. Nap

**Nap**

"There you are!" Rin's voice snaps Rido awake from her nap. It was actually quite comfortable sleeping on the grass with a cat keeping you warm. Nagamichi sits up from Takeo's other side, blushing a little. Looks like Rido wasn't the only one taking a nap!

The only difference between the two of them is that she doesn't give a flying fuck about being caught napping. She was _tired,_ dammit, so she slept it off!

It's not like it's dangerous here! Not with Takeo and Father's familiar around. In fact, Rido can see several of her mother's familiars stationed around this very garden.

 _So don't act surprised! You've been watching us the entire time!_


	66. Leak

**Leak**

Rido pointedly eyes a raven nonchalantly standing on a tree branch before giving her mother a dubious look. A pink tint graces her cheeks for half a second before excusing itself into oblivion as she takes on a stubborn expression.

"Let's head in." Rin says, a slight hint of authority leaking its way into her tone as she bent down to pick up Rido. "Nagamichi's parents are worried."


	67. Pity

**Pity**

Rido leans against her father's collar heavily as the Aido patriarch shoots his son a look when Takeo informed him he's going to train the boy. One of her father's fingers holding her hips twitched at that exact moment, his sphere whirling in fright, pity and sympathy.

It calms a bit when she places her hand on it and watches as a string reaches out and wraps itself around one of her fingers for comfort.

She feels bad for the boy too. But Takeo is the best one qualified to train the boy. Especially since _her_ body is too young to instruct the boy.


	68. Enough

**Enough**

The next night, Rido watches Takeo force Nagamichi's body to stretch into impossible degrees while absentmindedly crushing dummy after dummy. It looked rather painful- but the boy got used to it quickly because his body is young.

She knew _she'll_ have to go through this next once she gets old enough. But then again, she'll have _three_ instructors- Mother, Father, and Takeo as the main one (cause he has more free time than the others).

Rido foresees many arguments and pouts in the near future once they realize this.


	69. Improve

**Improve**

It's been four months since Nagamichi began training under Takeo and, already, Rido had seen his mind break and reform, break and reform. His ideals become reinforced and he learns how to truly stand tall and proud. He's improvising during his "spars" against Takeo, curving and twirling around the taller man.

Nagamichi learns to take advantage of all the openings Takeo's giving him. Including the one between the legs. She's seen Takeo show zero openings to Nagamichi and saw how the boy darts around, taunting and giving feints to force an opening.

And most of all, Nagamichi learns to never let his guard down, especially in a battlefield. Rido knows his dedication, knows his efforts to improve himself. And she's never been prouder.


	70. JARVIS

**JARVIS**

"Ar- archeologish." Rido says to the air in the privacy of her bedroom. She's testing her speech at this moment. Trying to check if she has enough teeth to speak perfectly and training her tongue around the rolls and whatnot.

Her first word had "JARVIS" and felt her mother's and father's disappointment and utter depression at her side and on the tree beside her window.

 _What? He's an awesome character!_

She was absolutely euphoric with the success, even though it sounded like she said "Jarbish" instead and her parents sobbed and clung to her the entire day and night when they got home.


	71. Lost

**Lost**

"Rido, say Kaa-chan~!" Rin sobs hysterically into her stomach, as if she was drunk off her ass. Kanae spooned his wife from behind, somehow clinging to both Rin and Rido tighter than he ever had before, with an expression saying he thought the world is ending.

 _I think I broke my parents._

Rido felt even more lost. She's tried saying it before- both of her parents' titles, in fact. But it had been lost under Rin's wails and howling orders to call her Kaa-chan. Every attempt had been cut-off, and it all came here: Kanae clinging to his girls as tightly as he was able to without harming either of them, Rin sobbing uncontrollably as if her baby had been kidnapped and the baby herself feeling panicked and at lost of what to do.

It's a vicious cycle, and she doesn't know how to break it.


	72. Learn

**Learn**

They aren't letting her out of their sight, and Rido doesn't know how to feel about that. But there is some good to this! Rido can finally go out! _Somewhat._

Sure she spends the days stuck in offices and meeting rooms while her parents intimidate people into doing as they're told and talk about confidential things a kid like her shouldn't be around for, but it's a nice change from her room, training room and living room!

Now she can watch and learn the ropes, so to speak. Plus, seeing her parents' exasperated and frustrated faces when dealing with stupid people is always funny!


	73. Respect

**Respect**

"Kaa-chan." Rido calls out, prolonging some poor sod's life out of pity. "Look at that pretty bird!"

Rin shoots her daughter a knowing look, complying out of respect of Rido's wishes. She smiles in delight when a hummingbird flies by the window, and says, "That is a pretty bird~! I wonder where it's heading to, though~."

"Me too." Rido giggles, glancing at the terrified vampire and quickly gesturing him a dismissal. He gives her a grateful, puppy look and scurries out the office. "Maybe it's going to China!"

Rin snorts delicately, the smile on her face becoming even sweeter and more fond.


	74. Children

**Children**

"Rido is a very kind girl." Rin tells her. "But sometimes Rido must be strict to others. Our empire's subjects are our children- will be Rido's children someday, and that means Rido must take care of them as fairly as possible."

Rin's smile grows deeper. She brushes a kiss across Rido's temple and signs a refusal on one of the documents. "But sometimes these children get competitive. _So_ competitive, they'll hurt their fellow vampires to win. And sometimes, they'll do bad things to make their comfy lives even comfier. At those times, Rido must make sure to stamp those out. Rido must make sure those kinds of people doesn't cause unrest amongst our children and sometimes must do bad things to keep things peaceful."

 _Yeah, no pressure there._


	75. Problem

**Problem**

"Rido-hime," The vampire she saved the week before risked approaching her and bowed deeply before straightening. She turned her attention to the hesitant male and raised an eyebrow. "I'd like your advice on a problem."

 _What does a possibly centuries older vampire want from a nearly one year old baby?_

She can practically feel her mother's amusement behind her, but focused at the matter at hand. She may have been giving her parents some input during their meetings and giving suggestions on better living here and there, but that doesn't mean much in the face of things. Not enough to warrant being looked for advice anyway.

"The spies have noticed a few of the Aristocrats acting strangely for the past few weeks and have been taking trips into town outside of their territory and meeting with humans." He explains with a small frown. "We ran background checks on the humans, but we haven't found anything. We believe they may be Vampire Hunters under cover."


	76. Observe

**Observe**

 _Are you testing me or something?_

Rido would feel very unimpressed if they are actually approaching her on this. But she decided to humor them anyway. She can practically see her parent's sticky fingers all over this.

"If you can't find anything on the humans, don't bother then." Rido says simply. "Observe them. Listen to their converstions with others and keep note of the people they interact with. _Do not, under any circumstances, approach them or let **anyone** know the spies are there._ As for the vampires, investigate them even more thoroughly. Look for anyone they might trust to do things for them in secret, and send even more spies into their households. That is all."

"Understood, Rido-hime." He bowed once more and strode out the place.


	77. Blanch

**Blanch**

Something changed after that. Many more people started coming over looking for her and asking for her advice. It feels strange actually being looked at and being taken seriously.

Rido supposed it really _was_ a test of some sort. But she almost blanched when Rin came up to her two weeks later and announced the arrest of Vampire Hunter spies and their vampire allies. Apparently, the increased amount of spies really _did_ notice something and managed to uncover the entire conspiracy.

This left Rido feeling very, _very_ unimpressed with the Intelligence Department for actually approaching her on this.


	78. Birthday

**Birthday**

" ** _Happy birthday, Rido~!"_**

The heterochromatic girl felt a bit startled. She knew the day had been coming soon, she just didn't know it was today. Then again, it is her first birthday.

She grinned happily and hugged her father as tight as she could before kissing his cheek, then leaned over to do the same to her mother. Rin used that opportunity to place a flower crown on Rido's head, identical to the one she made several months prior and cupped her cheek gently.

"My Rido," Rin croons ever so sweetly. "Congratulations on surviving your first year, Kaa-chan is so proud of you~!"

"Thank you for protecting me during it." Rido shoots back teasingly. "I wouldn't have made it without all of your support!"

Rido moved on to hug Takeo and politely shook hands with Nagamichi. She nodded to Atsuko and Hibiki in acknowledgment, thanking her long memory in the back of her mind. She wouldn't have remembered their names otherwise.

"Thank you for taking the time to celebrate my birthday."


	79. Physiology

**Physiology**

Rido felt disturbed- no, it wasn't gruesome or anything. It was just that a vampire's physiology is a confusing, rollercoaster like thing!!!!

She felt like flipping a table when Rin told her that the first three years are fast ones- apparently, the vampire babies grow as fast as human ones. After that... their aging process slows down like a fucking _comic book character!!! What is this a ma-_

 _...don't answer that_.

It'll take a vampire child 40-50 years to reach the human equivalent of adolescence, 50-70 for Purebloods. Then, because their bodies are sensing they're nearing adulthood, the "teen" vampire starts shooting up like a weeds again! And once they reach adulthood, their body finally just stops making topsy-turvy turns. Instead, they'll slowly age like the vampires Vampire Knight adult characters they've shown and she hadn't loved.

She's fourteen years old- _What? Too much of a time skip? Too bad, nothing of importance happened during these years that you need to know!!!-_ and she looks like a fucking four year old. Ugh. Seems like Nagamichi wasn't as young as she thought he was.

 _Nevermind, apparently the vampire's mind ages as fast as the body._


	80. MWSSTAH

**MWSSTAH**

She strode down the halls as gracefully as a four year old body could, and entered the office she'd been provided a decade before. Everything had been fitted for her size, making her feel as cool as Reborn, but she dismissed the thought as fast as it came. No one is as cool as Reborn.

The empire's duties had been split five-way between the Kuran family. Rido had taken over the Intelligence Department after _that_ incident. She hasn't met Takeo's wife yet, but she will next month. Then there'll be her "official debut" to the society in six years...

"Rido-hime, good evening." The man-who-she-saved-and-then-approached-her (MWSSTAH for short cause she's not including the ands) works directly under her now. His name... is Asato... Asato Ichijo.

As in Asshole Itches and Has a Stick Far Up It, Grandfather. Who is now a "young" man in the equivalent human age of early twenties. A fucking hot one too. Stupid vampire genes.


	81. Slip

**Slip**

Asato seems like an amiable guy. A more tempered version of his future grandson. There were times he'll slip and practically cling to her leg, complete with puppy eyes and over-dramatic tears. When his girlfriend comes over too, he'll coo and tease and blush a hell of a lot easier. The very picture of a doting boyfriend.

But he's been depressed lately. And Rido is pushing more paperwork on him to not only take advantage of his distracted state, but to also allow him to escape. Seriously, with the amount of tears he's been crying the past few days, Rido is legitimately surprised the paperwork he's been signing hadn't been stained with them.

Rido isn't inclined to find out. It's not her problem, anyway.


	82. CDC

**CDC**

"This is your problem." Rin tells Rido bluntly. "Ichijo-kun's depression is contagious. And I have no intention of letting it spread throughout our empire. Contain him in your office, and since he's _your_ employee, it's up to you to cure his depression. Our empire's fate rests in your hands, Rido!"

 _What am I, a high-class CDC doctor?_

Rido sighs in defeat and heads back to her office. She stares at the sobbing blond for a moment. Rido grabs several documents, then rolls them all up.

"Ichijo-san." Rido calls for his attention, reinforcing it with a harsh hit to the head with the paper roll. "We need to talk."


	83. Moment

**Moment**

Asato seems like he's been shocked out of his tears, at least for now.

Rido moves to her desk and leans against the edge. She almost wished she has a cigarette or something to smoke with. This is the type of moment where she'll look cool if she lighted one and took a wiff of it. Instead, she closed her eyes for a moment, then shot the blond a slight glare.

He jumps in fright, bearing his eyes down in submission.

"Stand up tall." Rido snarls. "And don't look away from the person's eyes you're speaking to."

This would have been the perfect moment to take a wisp, but no. Her body's too young for that. So she pauses for a moment while he straightens his posture and stares into her eyes.

"Asato has been causing a lot of problems for his coworkers when he turned up here, in tears, for the past two weeks." Rido informs him bluntly, cutting through the formalities in her exasperation. "Your depression has been an epidemic of sorts throughout the workers of this empire and it's been affecting their performance. Badly. What is your excuse, Asato?"


	84. Girlfriend

**Girlfriend**

"My girlfriend broke up with me two weeks ago." He admits his posture slumping and his eyes wandering down before snapping back to her.

 _Huh. No wonder she hasn't been around here._

"She'd been cheating on me with another guy. I- I just wasn't enough." He started sniffing and blubbering again. So Rido hit him with the paper roll. Again.

"...so you've been depressed because she cheated on you." Rido states blandly. She watches him flinch and absentmindedly whacks his head with the paper roll again. "So you've been depressed because she cheated on you. Through what part of _that_ is _your_ fault?"

 _Is he stupid?_

" _She_ cheated on you." Rido repeats harshly. "Not the other way around. It was _her_ choice to do so. Not yours."

"Ri- Rido-hime." He says in surprise.

"You have no right to be depressed over her actions." Rido tells him sharply. " _No._ it is, however, _you're_ right to be fucking _angry_ over it. _She is the one who cheated on you._ And it was _not,_ in _anyway_ , you fault."

 _Stupid vampire whose depression caused problems for me. It wasn't even your fault, so why are you blaming yourself!?_


	85. Warmth

**Warmth**

Something's changed again.

Rido doesn't know what it is this time. Ichijo's back to normal, though he's been slipping a lot more often than usual.The reports are the same as usual. There's no emotional epidemic happening.

"Ichijo-san, I'll be taking the week off to visit family relatives."

"Understood, Rido-hime." The blond bows as he opens the door for her. She stops for a moment in a moment of inspiration and turns torward him.

"Have a good evening, Asato." Rido tells him, a hint of warmth seeping through. She studies his face for a moment then leaves without another word.

He had been blushing.


	86. Impatient

**Impatient**

After ruthlessly pushing what she noticed to the back of her mind, Rido packed her bags and met with Takeo and Nagamichi at the front door. The Aido and she never really bonded together like she'd hoped, but they were close enough to spend time together in companionable silence. He should have left with his parents when her gums finally stopped itching, but Takeo had objected strongly and insisted he stay to get some more training.

Her parents were standing off to the side, one pouting and the other looking like world was ending once more.

"Stay safe, my Rido." Rin orders, kneeling to hug her daughter tightly. Kanae mirrors his wife from behind, and they stay like that until Takeo impatiently barks, "That's enough. We got to get going."

Rido smiles apologetically and moves to stand by the pair.

"I'll see you two next week, Kaa-chan, Tou-chan."


	87. Curious

**Curious**

The carriage is very, very boring and uncomfortable. Her parents normally rode horses to get to their workplace, so this is the first time she's riding a carriage. Rido sighs a little from her place next to Nagamichi and wishes she brought a book for this journey.

"Tell us about obaa-san, ojii-san." Rido tells him softly. She'd never heard so much as a peep from him about her, except that she exists. So she's understandably curious in how she managed to capture _this_ guy. Nagamichi leans forward a little, obviously interested as well.

"...She is clumsy." He provides curtly, then stares out the carriage window. Nagamichi and Rido waits patiently for more, only to realize he's not going to _give_ anymore. They spend their time trying to get more out of the bald man.


	88. Trip

**Trip**

They arrived to a comfy one floor cottage house at dawn. Regardless of the time, the front door burst open anyway.

"Ta-kun~!!!" A beautiful lady with midnight blue hair and reddish-brown eyes ran out the house. "I missed y- OOF!!!"

She tripped after one step out of the house. She popped back up and started running up to them again. Then she tripped. Again.

Takeo and Rido moved to her side and helped her up, Nagamichi and coachman themselves were getting the bags out of the carriage.

"Are you alright?" Rido asks worriedly, checking her form for any injury even though she couldn't smell any blood. Once she was sure her grandmother doesn't even have any bruises, she backed up and curtsied politely. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rido Kuran, daughter of your sister-in-law, Rin Kuran, and your son, Kanae Kuran. It is a pleasure to meet you."

And it was at that moment, Rido realized she doesn't even know her name.


	89. Cuteness

**_Cuteness_**

"What a polite sweetheart, Rin-nee and Kanae-kun raised." The lady sighs wistfully. Rido straightens and finally gets a truly good look at her. Her first impression? _Sparkles._

Remember that time when Kanae smiled and sparkles began attacking her? This was it- except worse. This was a full-out invasion of sparkles and it _literally hurts her eyes._

They aren't even fading! It's like she's a bachelorette from the game H*rvest Moon being introduced, but the sparkles _just won't go away!!!!_

Rido doesn't let it affect her smile though, and tries her best to ignore it so she can look at the lady properly. With a pair of wide eyes with icy blue specks glittering in the reddish brown haze of her left one, full lips and a cute upturned nose, she is the epitome of one word. _C_ _uteness._

"My name is Tomoko." She says, a delicate hand covering her heart as she curtsied- well, tried to. She tipped over until Takeo caught her andand straightened her back up. She coughed embarrassingly and continued on. "Tomoko Kuran, cousin of Rin Kuran and my husband, Takeo Kuran."


	90. Froze

**Froze**

"My name is Nagamichi Aido. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A voice sounds out from behind Rido. They all turn to the forgotten boy and he slowly stands from his bow. He flashes them a sheepish smile then looks at Tomoko properly.

It had been unnoticeable to others, but Rido could see the moment he froze.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too!" Tomoko chirps. "Ah! All of you must be tired from your travel, allow me to prepare some rooms for you to sleep in."

She turns and heads inside, Takeo at her heels to keep her from tripping.

"...Rido-hime, did you see the-?"

"Sparkles?"

"Yes. Thank goodness I wasn't the only one."


	91. Source

**Source**

 _C_ _LANG!_

Rido snaps her eyes open. She looks at the clock in the bedroom, reading 8:49, then peeks through the curtains. It is dark, the sun had just finished setting. She rubs her eyes in hopes of waking herself up even further.

 _C-C_ _LANG~!_

Eh. Takeo can take care of whatever that is.

She unpacks her bags and sets the clothes in the dresser, leaving some out for her to wear tonight. She heads into the conjoining bathroom and sets up a stool so she can wash her face and brush her teeth. Figures it's the cold water that'll wake her up.

She get ready for the night, then strolls to the source of the clanging noise.

...it's Tomoko. Takeo's standing off to the side sighing excessively and Nagamichi seems to be the only one getting anything done of whatever they're doing.

"What's going on?" Rido pipes in conversationally, startling everyone in the room. And yes, it includes Takeo. No one can say _otherwise._


	92. String

**String**

"Rido-chan!" Tomoko cries out in surprise. She scrambles over to Rido's side, almost tripping many times but managing to stay upright since Rido sent some strings out to wrap around her waist and assist her. Tomoko grabs one of Rido's hands and pulls her to the group. "I thought you weren't supposed to get up yet."

"I'm a light sleeper." Rido offers simply, remembering what woke her up. It wasn't the clangs or the sound of her Tomoko tripping, actually. It had been the lack of her father's presence. Even though his daughter is by far more than capable of protecting herself and has the mind of an adult, he still sends his familiar to her bedroom for her to sleep with. It had been the lack of a warm, furry body curled next to her that woke her up.

"Well, breakfast will be ready shortly." Tomoko promised readily. She manages around the kitchen with the help of Rido's string and finally to gets to cooks something without any drops or spills. Rido pointedly ignores Takeo's knowing glance and focuses on the dishes set before her. It looks terrifying.


	93. Nightmare

**Nightmare**

She knows it's stupid. She knows she'll die for sure if she even takes a bite of this. But-

Rido looks at the lump of unidentifiable "cooked" food, dressed in a garish purple goo and oozing black smoke, it looks like the stuff of nightmares. Then she looks up at Tomoko's expectant face, the ever-present sparkles more evident than they had been earlier. Takeo is sitting off to the side frozen stiff, his face slightly paler than normal. Nagamichi is in the background, rapidly shaking his head and mouthing, "Don't do it!"

Then Rido looks back at Tomoko, and sees even more sparkles around her and drops her eyes down to the "food". She gulped nervously and stuffed a spoonful into her mouth.

...


	94. Movie

**Movie**

Rido opens her eyes to a crying Tomoko holding her hand. Her tears are producing even more sparkles and it looks like an anime romance movie scene. Damn sparkles are stabbing her eyeballs.

"Ri- Rido-chan!" Tomoko cries when she noticed she's awake. Her hand moves to Rido's forehead to check on her temperature, before her head dramatically falls onto Rido's chest. Her poor four year old chest. It's not gonna bruise later because of vampire healing, but it still hurts.

"I thought you died!" Tomoko sobs, her delicate hands grasping the blanket that Rido just noticed.

"I'm fine." She croaks out, having a slightly difficult time breathing because- yaknow- there's a head on her chest. That must have been one potent thing if her voice is still _this_ bad.


	95. Perceptive

**Perceptive**

"You're not!" Tomoko denied with a shake of her head. "I'm not so delicate you have to lie to me!"

 _Why are you perceptive_ now!?

"...I really am fine." Rido insists quietly. "I'm alive, my body isn't permanently damaged and my mind is intact. I am _perfectly_ _fine._ "

 _Everything just hurts like hell. Even my feet, for whatever reason._

"I'm not a kid." She sobs to herself. "Why are Takeo, Kanae and even you always downplay your injuries? You're not the only one who feels them, you know?"

... _what?_


	96. Empath

**Empath**

"... Obaa-san." Rido calls for her attention. "Are you an empath?"

"...Every Pureblood has a unique ability to themselves." Tomoko answers quietly. "You can say I'm an empath, but I don't feel other vampires emotions. Only their physical injuries. I can even see their cores- if it's damaged. That's why I'm here. Stationed far, far away from other living beings."

"Don't look so angry, Rido-chan." Tomoko chuckles. "No one knows I'm alive, so no one can hurt me."

"...obaa-chan won't get hurt if they don't know you're alive?" Rido asks, her mind whirling. She couldn't find anything on her grandmother, not even a birth certificate. There had been no announcements made and no mention of her whatsoever. If she had been abducted, how do they get rid of the culprits if Tomoko can feel each and everyone of them intimately? "So obaa-chan is safe."


	97. Ginger

**Ginger**

Rido sighs, feeling tired suddenly. She had not been expecting _that_. While she had been lost in thought, Tomoko had used that opportunity to slip out of the room, unnoticed.

"Rido-hime?" Nagamichi's voice came through the door. "Are you well?"

"...I'll be fine." She assured, already feeling the pain gradually lessen. Rido can't lie about her body around Tomoko but she _can_ tell them she'll get better. "Come in, Aido-san. I'm as decent as I could be."

The door creaks open, revealing the boy carrying a tray with a bowl of something steaming. Rido forces herself not to pale, but something must have been on her face when he hurriedly explained, "Takeo-shishou cooked this."

 _That doesn't mean much!_

"I've tasted it some time ago," Nagamichi continues, setting the tray before Rido and taking the seat Tomoko occupied earlier. "It's actually good."

She looks at it, realizing that it's porridge with a hint of ginger in the scent. It _looks_ appetizing, and Nagamichi ate it earlier and is still up and running...

She delicately took a spoonful of the soup, and put it in her mouth.

 _Delicious._ Was Rido's first thought. Followed by, _Why the hell wasn't he cooking earlier then!!???_


	98. Reliance

**Reliance**

"Please rest up some more, Rido-hime." Nagamichi lightly cajoled once Rido finished eating. He stood and picked up the tray. "Takeo-shishou will want us on the training field once Rido-hime has recovered."

"Understood." Rido nods slightly in assent. She watches him leave and lays back down on the bed. She curls up into herself, closes her eyes and forcibly relaxes.

... _I can't sleep._

She frowns a little, lightly cursing her reliance on her father's company to sleep without any real heat. She misses the feel of the furry body next to her, the watchful gaze on her form to ensure she's fine and generally feeling protected by his very presence.

It's only the second day, she 'll have to get used to it... at least until she gets back home.

Rido sighs tiredly. This is going to be a long day.


	99. Echo

**AN: Thank you for your kind reviews!**

 **Echo**

"Dodge faster!" Takeo barks at Nagamichi. The boy nods as the space next to him explodes and Rido quietly takes a whip from the weapons rack and lashes it out at the blond.

He dodges the weapon, and leaps out at her. Ice gathers into his hand, obviously being guided to form some- oh! He's making an ice sword! It's like the backwards version of Weiss' weapon from RWBY!

He swings it down and Rido slides to the side, casually swinging the whip around her form to block his attacks. Nagamichi weaves around her, looking for any openings when she lashes her whip out at him once again. He takes the provided opening to bolt into her personal space and they grin at each other-

 _DUCK!_

Rido never lets her instincts down during training. The pair drop down, barely dodging the blade that swung sideways. They both pop back up and realize rather sheepishly they'd forgotten about Takeo. Rido lashes the whip at the bald man, doing everything she can to keep him on the defensive. Nagamichi bolts to the man's side, taking advantage of the openings to swing his sword.

Takeo moves to block the blade, only to realize Rido's whip caught his scythe. He effortlessly bends out of the blade's way and brings his foot up to kick the boy. Rido uses that opportunity to jump onto his broad shoulders and brings the rod part of the scythe against his neck. He suddenly bends forward, flipping her over his chest, and kicks her up with his foot instead.

"AHHHH! FUCK YOOOUUUUU!!!!" Rido's screams echo as she disappears into the upper parts of the forest of trees.


	100. Goal

**AN: The one hundredth drabble!!! Yay~! *cheers and claps roar in the background**

 **Warning: I'll be posting a set of series _after_ this drabble that are NOT going to be drabbles, which _will_ take a bit longer to write. They'll be in celebration of the hundred drabbles and so will be the other characters' POVs on Rido so far. Plus at the end, I'll give you a surpise~!!!**

 **Goal**

Rido scowls a bit as she realizes her shirt is caught in a tree branch.

 _Figures an anime/manga world will do this to me whenever I'm thrown into a tree._

She brings a string out and whips it at the branch behind her. She grins as she hears it snap and her body drops to the ground. She hurries to the training grounds in time to see Nagamichi kicked out by Takeo and quickly hurries over to catch him.

"H- Hime." Nagamichi coughs lightly in acknowledgement. She grins at him and pushes him up to stand. He beams back at her, the camaraderie formed by Takeo's tor- training easily shining through. They both rush at him, determined to achieve their goal: Make Takeo bleed.

That is the goal he sets for them in each training session, and so far, he's been going at them easy enough for them to _at least_ get this.

Nagamichi blocks Takeo's swing bringing himself even closer and stabbing the ground with his sword so he can bring both his feet up, aiming for Takeo's crotch. The man mirrors the boy to rebuff his efforts only for a whip to wrap around his bottom ankle and quickly forces his legs to open. Nagamichi's kick aims true.

The bald man wheezes painfully, but Rido takes that moment of weakness to swing his body around like a meteor hammer and slams his body into a massive tree trunk. She switches the arc into an upwards one and he lands onto Nagamichi's waiting blade.


	101. Past

**AN:** **I set it up~! If you look through my stories in my profile, you wouldn't miss it!** **I** **t explicitly states that it's a side thingy for TFC!**

 **Past**

"Well done, brats." Takeo states gruffly. He stands up and casually pulls the sword out of from his back. "We're done for the night."

Rido falls onto her bottom, leaning back onto her hands. Nagamichi looks over with a sympathetic smile and deconstructs his sword before heading inside. Takeo lingers for a moment, setting the fallen things back up and putting the whip back in its place, before following the boy.

She looks up at the sky, the stars more apparent here than back home and lets her mind wander. She hasn't really allowed herself to think about the past- before she became Rido. But maybe she will. Once in a while.


	102. Head

**Head**

"Obaa-san?" Rido stands at the door, carrying a small plate of cookies on one hand and a cup of green tea with the other. The older lady looks up from the documents she was looking through and beams. Rido takes that as permission to come in. "Takeo-ojii and I baked you some cookies. And Aido-san made the tea."

Well, it had been her giving Takeo instructions around the kitchen- that's very, very modern which makes Rido confused because isn't this supposed to be three thousand years before the plotline? And Nagamichi simply threw some tea leaves into a kettle of water and letting it sit over the fire.

Rido felt uncertain over his decision-making skills right then and there and slipped a bit of milk and a lot of sugar in it.

"Oh? Thank you, Rido-chan." Tomoko tells her warmly. Rido curiously peeks at some of the documents in her line of sight, and raises an eyebrow when she realizes what they are. Scratch paper, for a lot of math equations. Tomoko follows her sight and chuckles. "Rido-chan is the Intelligence Department head, yes?"

The girl nods slowly. Tomoko clears a part of the table for the items and Rido places them down carefully. Tomoko retrieves one of the papers lying on top of a messy pile in the corner of the table, and offers it to Rido.

"Obaa-san handles the finances." Tomoko takes a sip of the tea and sighs in what Rido hopes to be an appreciative one. "I can't handle vampires directly because what my ability is, but I can handle numbers just fine. Takeo turns it in for me and poses as the official head of the Finance Division, alongside his Military Faction."


	103. Plothole

**Plothole**

Rido absorbs her words carefully, slotting each of the implications into its correct place among the plethora of plotholes her mind had found. The kitchen is still the top one. That stove is _electric_ dammit, but _carriages!?_

Carriages.

As if they still live in the dark ages. The kitchen says otherwise. Why hasn't the technology bled into the other everyday objects!? A car would have been nice to have! Plus light bulbs and fridges and freezers. _Ugh._

"Rido-chan?" She looks up at Tomoko, who's practically embodying amusement. She offers Rido one of the cookies and the girl immediately takes one, relishing in the sweet taste. "Ta-kun's a lot happier with Aido-kun and you here. Thank you for deciding to come."

"Oh no. I wanted to meet you, anyway." Rido feels a bit taken aback. She takes one of Tomoko's hand and places her forehead on it. Then pauses.

 _Ah. Ah shit, I didn't think it was still a habit!_


	104. Curious 2

**Curious**

"I was actually curious about Takeo-ojii and you." Rido continues. She acts as if the earlier event didn't happen and hopes Tomoko forgets about it. "He 's not the most... social... person out there. So I was wondering how you... um... managed to, ah... court... him?"

Tomoko blinked once. Then twice. And she bursts into laughter.

"Obaa-san... It's not nice to laugh at people when they ask about things they're actually uncertain about." She can feel her cheeks flush hot and glares at her without any heat. Tomoko's laugh stops short and she looks at Rido with her eyes wide.

"Oh kami, Rido-chan sounded just like Rin-nee just now." Tomoko says dazedly. She jerks back into herself and coughs politely. "Sorry. It's simply that the others had been curious too, but no one had ever been courageous enough to ask."

 _Laying it on thick there, but nice save!_


	105. Dense

**Dense**

"Rido-chan guessed it right." Tomoko's smile grows wider, sweeter than Rido had seen so far. "I _am_ the one who courted Ta-kun. He didn't even realize I was courting him until he confessed and asked to court me. Rin-nee and he are very dense people actually. I'm glad Kana-chan inherited my perception."

 _I know I'm in denial a lot, but I hope I'm not_ that _bad._

"I..." Tomoko falters a little. But she clenches her jaw and looks into Rido's eyes dead-on. "I wasn't the... kindest... vampire around."

 _Hah?_

"There were a lot of _women_ after Ta-kun's heart, and since I had the disadvantage of being isolated... I... had my familiars... terrorize... them?" Tomoko sounds as sheepish as her pauses suggest... but she doesn't even look remotely sorry.


	106. Notes

**Notes**

 _Your sparkles are_ liars!

Rido keeps the shock to a minimum despite her heart's whole-hearted cry. On the other hand, her mind can't help but commend Tomoko's actions. Sabotaging her love rivals? And somehow doing it without revealing her existence?

 _The Intelligence Department should take notes from you._

The spies have a lot to learn when compared to _this_ lady. As her favorite quote goes, "Look underneath the underneath."

That had been a thought she's been trying to instill to her dumbass trainees and it's the only thing she truly hopes will stick. That and to never question her decisions. No matter how stupid they are!


	107. Sea

**AN: Sorry I took so long! Writers block. Most of my attempts in explaining this were just too awkward! And there were so many light novels I'd gotten caught in!**

 **Sea**

"I believe Ta-kun finally fell for me when I-um- _took care_ of some Vampire Hunters that were after Rin-nee." She smiles gaily and cups her cheek as her sparkles became even more prominent. "I took care of them so fast, the feel of their deaths had been brief. After that, Ta-kun barged in ready to fight. Rin-nee could only laugh at his timing."

 _...what a scary person to be related to... I'm so glad I have her genes!_

Rido holds in a snort as she imagines the scene he enters into. The feel of terror and adrenaline running through his veins only to find a sea of corpses and Tomoko-obaa standing peacefully in the middle with her ever present sparkles. Kaa-san would be sitting on a chair somewhere and start guffawing at Takeo-ojii's dumbfounded face. Oh yes, she can see how he'd fall for her right then and there.

"Next thing I knew, Ta-kun was kneeling right in front of me holding my right hand in both of his and asking to court _me._ And Rin-nee just started _howling_ but I don't think Ta-kun even noticed. But I couldn't let this opportunity to be passed up, so I said 'Yes.'"


	108. Hope

**Hope**

Rido endured another sleepless day and cursed at the world in the recesses of her mind. She wants to make a promise to herself to be a bit more independent of her parents influence, but just _cannot_ bring herself to. She likes having a cat with a heavy presence curled up next to her, and a raven set on a tree branch outside her window.

 _Guh._

One day, she'll rule the empire. One day, they won't be there by her side. And one day, _Rido might just awaken a certain ancestor and leave the empire to him._

She doesn't know whether _that person's_ obsession with her possible sister is voluntary. Whether it'll be voluntary for _her_ , in fact.

She doesn't know what twisted him into the vampire he was and why that manga absolutely _did no_ mention of Takeo-ojii and Tomoko-obaa. What circumstances he had faced to awaken the ancestor with the blood of his "beloved's" first child. Quite frankly, she doesn't wanna know. She just hopes a pack of her blood and the blood of traitors will be enough for him, if she truly has to wake him.

There's a reason she kept them alive for the past fourteen years, after all.


	109. Foundation

**Foundation**

"Rido-chan." Tomoko-obaa called out once a training session finished. The girl perked up, immediately coming over to her grandmother. "I'd like to teach to you something."

They walk in amiable peace, reaching the office they had talked in just the night before. Tomoko-obaa traces an imaginary line across the spines and stops at one, before delicately taking it from its place.

"I'm going to teach you the foundation of spellwork." Tomoko-obaa smiles mischieviously, handing Rido the book. "Now, most humans assume only wicthes and wizards can use magic, but those people are human as well. They do not have the energy to make the spells their own- they borrow magic from the earth, the universe, to sustain their spellwork. And so, are sorely limited in what they are allowed to do. The universe dictates what spells they can do, what magic takes and doesn't take. Not like us, who uses our own energy to dictate what our spells do. Our only limitations are our doubts, our very morals themselves. And _that_ is a good, solid limitation."


	110. Learn 2

**AN: Now, please don't be angry or anything about the spells and stuff... *dodges kunai and a Hyper Beam attack* It's just my way of explaining that vampire coma Kaname used and the "Hey let's turn Yuuki into a human using my life as a sacrifice!" Juuri had done. Plus, it'll solve the gender problems. * _hint,hint._**

 **Learn**

"Now, there are a few basic spells I'll be teaching you, as well as a few 'forbidden' ones to start you off." Tomoko-obaa's lips curved into a smile and her eyes became half-lidded in what Rido can only describe as ecstasy. "The rest will be self-taught, created by oneself personally. No one, except for yourself and those you teach it to, will be able to replicate your spells."

"Is Nagamichi-san incapable of learning this?" Rido asks with a small frown. They learnt things together. Even her "tutors" placed them together, especially once they realized she doesn't need their lessons. She couldn't be there most of the time though, she was mostly at her office valiantly battling paperwork.

"He is," Tomoko-obaa said with a smile, "but I wanted to teach you this myself. Some of it aren't meant for children to learn after all."


	111. Bone

**Bone**

Have you ever broken a bone before? Rido hasn't, but this feeling she's currently experiencing, she feels like it's the closest she'll ever be to having it. She can _feel_ her bones creak, and twist and elongate and shorten as it pleases and Rido _utterly_ refuses to be surprised when she looked up and saw Tomoko-obaa smiling at her obligingly.

She ignores the feeling of _wrongness_ as she collapses onto the ground and feel her limbs retract into her spine as if they've never _existed_ before and the feeling of her spine add more and more _and more_ _ribs until she can't even remember how many she had to begin with._

She can feel her skin tightening to accommodate this change and changing from the skin she's been accustomed to in both her lives to something else, _but she cannot remember the word because **ow.**_

It hurts. It hurts a lot.

"Huh." Tomoko-obaa kneels down next to her and runs a hand down Rido's spine. "To think Rido-chan's spirit animal is the snake."


	112. Snake

**AN: I do not own any references I am making in this drabble.** **And for Iris D. Peverell's comment, no. It will definitely not follow the canon. It completely derailed the moment she had been born (*cough* _Memoirs_ 1stchappie*cough*). But my drabbles _do_ hint what my imagination depicted Canon!Rido's childhood could be like and her actions in them that changed things. She _will_ turn into a guy sometimes either for an advantage a guy would have or to mess with people. **

**Snake**

 _The snake,_ Rido thought to herself in a daze, _the possessed tempter of Eve to eat The Fruit. The spirit animal of a certain bald, no-one-dares-to-name, wizard. The summon of a certain snake pedo, who also bears the name of the animal as part of his own name. The latter two obsessed with immortality, and have something against little kids. And all three are blatant deceivers._ _The symbolism of evil, vindictiveness and poison._

She slithers onto Tomoko-obaa's hand and sluggishly contricts the elder's arm.

 _The snake._ Rido thought idly, memories of her research on its symbolism filtering back into her mind. _There are some cultures who worship them as dieties, believing them to be umbilical cords tying humanity to Mother Nature. They represent fertility because of that. Plus eternity and continued renewal and transformation because they just so happened to shed their skins. Guardianship because some species of snakes actually warn idiots who trespass before attacking them. Then, finally, of healing... because some god of healing and medicine carries a staff with two snakes coiled around it for some reason._

Rido took a deep breath, quietly absorbing the duality of it all.

 _This... this is all a big "Fuck you." from the universe, isn't it? Well... Fuck you too! And die a horrible, horrible death!_


	113. Starve

**Starve**

Rido watched the sunset curled into her blankets. This is her fourth night and boy, she feels dead tired. She isn't one to admit it though, and her body refuses to adapt.

 _Taptaptap. Creak~..._

"Hm?" Rido turns her eyes to the door. She narrows her eyes a little, tenses up as the door creeps open then slams shut. A heavy pressure fills the bedroom, and Rido ignores the familiarity of the weight in exchange for suspicion. She sneaks a thread around her finger, ready to lash out and focuses on her right eye's vision. "...Tou-san?"

"Meow." The cat gracefully jumps onto the bed and nudges her face lightly before purring like a loud motor. Rido immediately melts at the contact, lapping up the comfort and security like a starving animal. She gently hugs the familiar with a relieved sigh, the lack of sleep finally crashing onto her body and promptly blacks out for the night.


	114. Heavy

**Heavy**

"Obaa-san and Ojii-san told you, didn't they?" Rido asks when she woke up the next night. He regarded her with a heavy stare from his place beside her. He butted her head with his gently with a soft meow and nudged her to sit up. "Thank you, Tou-san. Send Kaa-san my regards?"

He purred a little and leapt off the bed. Rido followed soon after, shivering slightly as her feet touched the cold floor. They walked down to the front door and Rido used a thread to open it for him.

"Meow~." He circled her legs once, then twice and bolted out the door. She watched him until his figure disappeared into the woods, then closed the door.


	115. Punishment

**Punishment**

"Good evening, Rido-chan!" Tomoko-obaa greeted happily. She was sitting at the dining table watching Takeo-ojii and Nagamichi cook. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did." Rido chirped. She took a seat beside the elder and she too, watched the man cook. "Thank you both, for informing Tou-san about it."

"Would have been less of a problem if you'd told us earlier." Takeo-ojii grunted. He set the finished food onto the plates and handed them to Nagamichi. "You'll have double the training for this."

"Understood." Rido replied. She dug into her food immediately, relishing the sweet taste of not blacking out.

"You'll also learn double the transformation spells as part of your punishment." Tomoko-obaa chips in with a content smile. "We'll start on the Gender Reversal spell too. Ah, you can teach Nagamichi-kun that one! Oh! The Aging spell is something you should know. But you two won't use it just yet. That spell is irreversible, after all."

"...understood."

 _Shit. This is going to be painful._


	116. Gender

**Gender**

Rido could only sit back and watch as Nagamichi freak out about the brunette's gender change. She doesn't really mind the body thing, it wasn't as painful as the animal one. But Nagamichi's reaction to her demonstration is just too funny to stop. It's as if the world's ending just because she- or is it he? Nah, Rido still identifies as a female- became a guy.

 _An hour left to go._ Rido thought idly. _Then it'll be Nagamichi's turn._

Of course Rido's not telling him that the transformation is temporary just yet. She actually just wants to let him stew and see him just accept the fact that she's a guy and that it might be "permanent."

There isn't much difference between her body and this one. Just the fact she has a penis instead of a vagina (obviously) and her jaw is slightly more angular than usual. She can attribute this to her age, but she still can't help but wonder what this says about her actual body.

 _I wonder how Nagamichi will look like as a girl._


	117. Pretty

**Pretty**

He looks like a pretty girl. As in, "This girl will definitely grow up winning beauty contests" pretty.

Rido would have thought the world unfair if it weren't for the fact she thought the same thing about herself when she finally took the time to examine her body. The vampire race is incredibly unfair.

"Rido-hime." Ah, Nagamichi's voice changed too, sounds a bit more high-pitched than usual. "This is felt... different... than what I had expected."

"Yeah." Rido says lazily. "You should be like this for three hours- tops. In the mean time... Come."

Rido grabs the blond's- or is it blonde?- hand and drags him- er, her?- to her bedroom. "I'll be stuffing you into dresses before the spell fades."


	118. Family

**Family**

Rido blatantly stared at the bull dog standing infront of her door. She doesn't think it's Tomoko-obaa's familiar- too gruff. Nagamichi, as an Aristocrat, is incapable of this type of magic, plus they aren't _this_ close. It's quite possibly Takeo-ojii's... but would he _real_ _ly_ send his familiar here _just_ to be her sleep companion? He isn't the emotional type after all, the most she'd ever seen of him had been his exasperated sighs and his face paling that one time Tomoko-obaa cooked breakfast.

But... it really can't be Tomoko-obaa's. She may be happy having people around her, but she actually seems like the type who's even happier being left alone and minding her own business. On the other hand, she _is_ a Kuran. So loner she may be, she is still as possessive over another Kuran as any other of their line. Their family is like a pack of wolves, except worse. That's their perk. Marry one Kuran, marry the entire family.

They tend to blur the edges of spouse and simply relatives. Personal space? Hah! That doesn't exist in this family. Modesty? Meh. Kaa-san, Takeo-ojii and Tomoko-obaa grew up together, all three raised Tou-san and he and the first two raised Rido, who lost her own modesty after the first ten diaper changes.

 _This family is a headache and a half to contemplate on. And they've already infected me with their habits._

And Rido would never change that for the world.


	119. Crying

**Crying**

Rido woke up on the sixth night with a bull dog laying next to her. The moment it realized she's awake, it dismissed itself into the shadows. It's a good substitute, not as good as the original considering the fact she spent her day half-asleep, but it was better than being totally awake. She quietly prepared herself for the day, then entered the dining room.

"Pack your bags."

Rido blatantly stares at Takeo-ojii in confusion, foot frozen midpoint in its descent towards the floor. She slowly straightens herself up, and asks in a dumbfounded manner, "Can you repeat that?"

"Pack your bags." He repeats, then must have seen the "Why?" on her face. "We're walking back to your place."

"..." Ah, the sound of her feet crying. Now, the readers of this drabble may ask, "Why is she internally crying?"

Well, this is the reason why. When they left to travel to Takeo-ojii's and Tomoko-obaa's house, it had been 9:05 pm. They arrived at dawn, 6:40 am. The carriage they used went about ten miles per hour. And, according to her mental calculations... that means they traveled about nine and a half miles.

... _My feet already feel sore._

"Think of it as a training trip." Takeo-ojii must have interpreted her emotions on her face again. But his words don't mean much in this... predicament. She has a bag to pack and a trip a dread after all.


	120. Trauma

**Trauma**

Rido didn't really feel like moving from Tomoko-obaa's embrace anytime soon. And she thinks Tomoko-obaa knows, because she is legitimately smirking at Takeo-ojii.

"Hurry up." Takeo-ojii doesn't sound as impatient as before, is he jealous Rido's taking up all of Tomoko-obaa's attention? If so, she needs to hurry and end this! She doesn't want to be thrown inside a labyrinthine tunnel without even a day's worth of food again!

It reminded her too much of that movie. What was it called again? _The Descent_?

 **AN: I don't own this reference.**

That traumatized her from exploring caves without a paid tourist guide and groups of people who've made it out of there alive. That experience Takeo-ojii put her through just made her hate tunnels in general. Another reason why she's knows she's going to hate this "trip."


	121. Goal 2

**Goal 2**

Rido mournfully let go of her grandmother and followed the two males. She exchanged a look of pure understanding with Nagamichi, before carefully observing their surroundings for any traps Takeo-ojii may have set up for them.

 _DODG_ _E!!!!!!!_

The two kids duck and rolled out of the scythe's way, blatantly ignoring Tomoko-obaa's surprised guffaw in the background and sprang into the bushes. Another training trip, with their lives feeling like it's on a balance. The usual then, but this time they'll have to find their way home without being "killed."

Rido said her goodbyes to Tomoko-obaa in her mind, before pushing it all aside in favor of her "goal." Then she began to sprint towards it while spreading her scent around and covering her tracks. Something she should be used to by now.

 _Game on._


	122. Hang

**Hang**

She doesn't know how long it's been. Only that the night hasn't given way to daybreak just yet. But it feels like it's been _forever._

The only times time had slowed down for her back in her first life had been whenever she dropped something fragile... _RIP Glass cups, bowls and that one vase that broke the day I bought it._

She dutifully slid out of the blade's way as it stabbed the earth next to her, and quickly grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at Takeo-ojii's eyes. It didn't hit him, but it's the thought that counts.

Rido quickly jumps up into the branches, ignoring the burst of killing intent closing in behind her. Then used the scythe as a spring board to flip over Takeo-ojii. She wrapped a string around his neck and jumped over a branch before dropping down the tree. It won't hang him for long, but it should be enough to lose him.


	123. Risk

**Risk**

Rido doesn't know how long she's been running, but she hopes she's been going in the right direction. Rido's actually been seeing glimpses of Nagamichi here and there, so either she's subconsciously following him or he's following _her_. She hopes it's not the latter. She's not exactly confident in her navigation skills this time around.

 _And speaking of navigation..._ She looks around uncertainly. The road she's seeing doesn't even look _remotely_ similar to the one they had taken a week ago. _Shit._

Welp, no choice but to follow this road. Hopefully it'll lead her to somewhere familiar. She kinda doubts it, but...

Rido looks back at the forest, resisting the urge to shrink back from the faint killing intent wafting from there. Takeo-ojii is nearby, and she doesn't want to risk being caught after that stunt she pulled. Following this road in the forest will have to be a risk she'll have to take.


	124. Luck

**Luck**

Rido comes upon a town late in the afternoon. It looks simple enough, but there's something about it that makes her uneasy- if only slightly. In fact, it actually looks a little familiar... but she can't put a finger on-

 _"Garei Toya, I presume."_

 _"Rido-hime presumes correctly."_

Ah! _That_ town! She should be able to find her way back from here!

...wait. Doesn't this town hold _a_ Vampire Hunter Headquarters? Not _the_ headquarters, this is one of the branches. That had been the reason why Toya-san had been stationed here.

... _Shit_.

Why is her luck particularly bad today!?


	125. Nostalgia

**AN: I only intended to only give some flashes of memories here, but it took a life of its own... and decided it wanted to take a majority of this drabble.**

 **Nostalgia**

She wanders around, taking a page from Assassin's Creed ( **AN: I don't own it.)** and run around with large groups of kids before slipping into alleyways in hopes of finding the right street. Later on, she encounters a church. A cathedral, actually. Now, normally she wouldn't bother but...

 _"Mama!"_

 _"I keep telling you, I'm not your mom. Save that title for someone else."_

 _Giggles and laughter and two pairs of hands taking each of my hands. A gong sounds in the background, and the faint scent of incense filters past the pollution. A group of countless children lead me past the_ _piles of garbage and to a sister calling for dinner time._

 _Later on that night, I tell the children stories of a monster who pretends to be human by day and hides at sundown, transforming itself into a monster and heading out into the night to feed on corpses and children and fetuses. They tend to have a harpy-like servant who searches for food with them, and creates a certain sound that sounds loud when they are far, and sounds quiet when they are near in order to trick their food.The master can only be killed by either decapitation or from being struck by a whip made from a sting ray's tail._

 _"It's just a story, right?" Hopeful eyes look into mine. I laugh at this, relishing the fear flashing in their eyes._

 _"It's all real." I tell them with a smirk. "I saw one with my own eyes. Our town just got rid of one last week, remember?"_

 _I take special care not to look at the winged man watching me from a branch outside the window, carefully hidden by the leaves and branches. Then, once I was sure all of them were asleep, I slip out into the woods._

Rido heads into the cathedral, heart weak from nostalgia. A ' _Hail Mary'_ mantra repeating itself in her mind over and over again.


	126. Dead

**AN: Regarding the past life thing, I will, eventually, set something up at _Memoirs,_ okie? Until then, _stew_ in this myster**y~! **But seriously, if you read the previous drabble carefully, you can find out what her life had been like. Even the country she belonged to. But I ain't telling you this upfront. Meh.**

 **Dead**

She sits in the nearest open seat, the church is unexpectedly full even though it isn't Sunday yet- that's supposed to be tomorrow. Is there something supposed to be going on?

"A famine." A voice croaks from beside her. She turns the person sitting next to her and ruthlessly bites down on a curse. "I'm afraid us humans aren't so appetizing at the moment, _vampire_."

The man is thin, dangerously so and seems like even the slightest of breezes will break him in half. Harmless overall... if one didn't look at his core- a deep, powerful color of the Vampire Hunter purple. He's more dangerous than an average vampire, weak his body may be.

"I don't feed from anyone not related to me." She says idly, taking the time to observe him. He has silver hair, beautiful and long, and loosely pulled into a side braid. His eyes are the color of lavender, a lighter hue than his core. They look dead. The kind that looks like their hopes had been shattered over and over again.

 _It is a sin to destroy a person like this._ Rido thinks to herself, fighting the despair that welled up in her throat back down.


	127. Banter

**AN: Their meeting went off the rails in the previous drabble. I intended for her to act like a child and him playing along lol. This character actually came from a spur of the moment thing too.** **And Iris D. Peverell... you got it in one!** **Plus, she managed to lose Takeo earlier.**

 **Sarcasm**

"How magnimous of you." He drawled after a moment. "Us humans should be grateful."

"Me feeding from my relatives isn't a _magnimous_ thing." Rido snorts, that was unexpectedly funny. "It's only a matter of trust and putting myself in a vulnerable position."

"Oh? Well, how lucky am I to find a vampire who won't feed from me." He says lightly. She huffs out a laugh, making sure their banter doesn't leak out and bother others with a spell. After years of dealing with posturing vampires, it's a refreshing change to meet a person with sarcasm.

"Not as lucky as I would be if a certain someone tells me his name." She says with a teasing tone.

"Uwaah~... To think a three year old would flirt with me..." He looks at her with wide eyes. His lip quirks up slightly. "My name is Shio. Shio Kiryu."


	128. Fish

**Fish**

"Call me Rido." She informs with a smile. News about her shouldn't leak out just yet, she hasn't gone through her "Introduction to Society" Ceremony whatnot just yet.

"Well, Rido-san... what brings _you_ to this famine-ridden, Hunter-infested town, hm?" Ah, blatantly fishing for information. How nice.

"I'm lost." She tells him simply. Straightforward ways should be rewarded after all. "And what of you to this church?"

"Bullshitting my way into becoming a fellow citizen of this town." Shio admits. "I can't hunt your kind- I'm too weak. And my sister wanted me somewhere 'safe.' So here I am... Whoo~..."

"How boring." She comiserates.

"Very boring." He agrees after a moment.


	129. Burden

**Burden**

"You're funny." Rido said, a grin wide and sharp coming unbidden.

"I'm not an animal waiting to be claimed as a pet." He snaps irritably.

"I know." She agrees amiably. "But I want you anyway. Besides think of the chaos that'll occur once the Hunters realize you've been man-napped by a vampire on _their_ turf."

He looks away from her, but couldn't quite hide the interest the flashed over his face. "I'm afraid I'll have to refuse. I came here in the first place to be less burden on my sister. Not to cause more."

"...Family will always be a burden." Rido advices quietly. "Because they are _yours_ to care for. Just as you will always be a burden to them. You are _theirs_ , after all. But a burden a family may be to each other, the rewards of seeing them safe, happy and healthy has a tendency to overtake the stress it has caused. You would do well to remember that, Kiryu-kun."


	130. Offer

**Offer**

"Just like you would do well to take my lessons to heart." A meaty finger lightly pokes the back of her neck.

 _Fuck_ _I died._

"Ojii~!" Rido greets in good cheer. She glances back at the silver-haired man, and notices how much paler he looks than before. Ah, how cute. "Don't worry, nii-san. We won't do anything to you against your will."

 _No need for Takeo-Ojii to know who he is just yet._

"That is correct, Kiryu-san." _What a wasted effort!_ "We always keep the treaty in mind, after all."

"As do I." Shio murmurs. "No need to worry of your granddaughter's safety, Kuran-san, my body is incapable of even causing any sort of harm towards her."

"...I will keep that in mind as well." Takeo-ojii rumbles. Rido smiles knowingly at their exchange. How cute, they're _bonding._ "I'm afraid that's all the time you'll have with my Rido. We have to leave."

"I'll come to by to play soon, okay?" Rido chirps, standing from the pew. She summons a Barbados Threadsnake in her hand and offers it to the silver-haired man. He stares at it with an unreadable expression and the air around them suddenly seems heavy.

"..." Shio reaches out a hand and gently encapsulates her own for a moment before retracting, snake resting comfortably around his fingers. "...I'll be waiting then."


	131. Irate

**Irate**

Rido follows Takeo-ojii into the forest and prays for Nagamichi's safety. He's in a bad mood, and as an Aristocrat and as the main disciple, Nagamichi will be bearing the brunt of it for education purposes. Just to train him in how to deal with an irate Pureblood.

"Rin-nee and Kanae will hear of this." He promises her, face blank but exuding a heavy pressure that's on the verge of snapping.

"...I understand."

The punishment will be harsh. But once that's over...

 _Silver-hair braided loosely. Body so thin it seems like it'll break from a slight breeze. Eyes the color of lavender looking at the cross as if it murdered everything he loved._

Rido has a Kiryu she will be cajoling to become hers.


	132. Limbo

**Limbo**

 _Warm._ Rido thought, nestled in a pair of thin, but strong arms and a comfortable chest. _Safe._

The air around her feels like a heavy blanket and she hears a soft, soothing voice off to the side. Rido is in a limbo of sorts, not quite in deep sleep, but definitely not awake. She's aware of her surroundings. Can smell the faint scent of a flower garden and something that just made her think of Takeo-ojii.

Rido hears someone heaving in the background, can only deduce that as Nagamichi. No one in her family has ever gone so far into training that they started panting from the exertion. Well, except her, but she doesn't count right now.

 _Familiar._ She thinks idly and relaxes even further when she feels a soft pressure on her temple for a few seconds before disappearing. The comfort it brings sends her into oblivion.


	133. Punishment 2

**Punisment**

 _Harsh punishment, indeed._ Rido thought in despair as Asato carted stacks of paperwork into her office. Her punishment? Do half of each of her relatives' paperwork... for a month. And yes, it also includes Tomoko-obaa's.

 _In fact..._ Rido flips through each paperwork to the contents, _I see several projects, that have nothing to do with simply signing paperwork, have been snuck in here to._

She sighs tiredly and closes her eyes for a moment.

"Rido-hime."

She opens her eyes almost unwillingly and sees Asato carting in tea and gelato... _chocolate_ gelato.

 _This vampire is a godsend._ She thinks as she gratefully accepts the treats and says, "Thank you, Asato."


	134. Stupid

**Stupid**

A budget being put aside for constructing another building to house records. A new training regiment being put under trial for the new soldiers. An Introduction to Society party needing to be set up by the coming week. And some stupid law some vampire families are trying to sneak past her parents' notice until implemented. Keyword: _trying._

Seriously, how stupid can they get? Rido has oversee all of these things, plus the paperwork she has to do and her own Division's needs. This what she'll have to deal with when she becomes Queen too, though. So she can't complain too much.

 _The stupid vampires on the other hand..._

What the fuck? What. The. Fuck!!!!??? How stupid are these vampires!? Why can't they just live their comfy lives in an out of the way place that doesn't bother anyone!!!??? These idiots!!!! Creating more work for her!

"Asato!" She barks. The man himself startles and turns his full attention onto her. She quickly writes each of the offending family's surnames down on a scrap piece of paper, folds it into an airplane and throws it at him. "Find everything you can on these families. Every deed, every act, every rumor made about them. If you can also tie them to the negative speculations, that would be wonderful."

"Understood, Rido-hime."


	135. Trust

**Trust**

She quickly sets up the party, contacting the Division leaders and inviting all the families to attended. Once everything was done and over with until the night itself, she contacted the Aido family. Getting their help is the easiest thing to do, especially since what she asked for was so easy to achieve.

"Rido-hime, are you sure?" Nagamichi asks once more for the nth time, looking at their silent companions nervously.

"I am." She responds. Then smiles mischieviously. "Don't you trust me?"

"I do." He nods. "To an extent."

"An extent!?" Rido pouts, swatting the blond's arm playfully. "That doesn't bring much confidence, Aido-san."

"I will not lie to you." He sighs exasperatedly. "I would trust you implicitly if you had taken my advice when it concerned _her_ dish."

"Tell me you'd turn her down if she presented her cooking to you." Rido demands, narrowing her eyes dangerously. "I _dare_ you."

He gulps nervously and averts his eyes.

"That's what I thought."


	136. Heads

**AN: Ripped off from the US Departments.**

 **Heads**

Rido oversees the party from the shadows, acting like the creep she's trying to be. She can't make appearance in this party, she isn't of age yet. So she's outside with her parents' familiars, cloaked with an invisibility spell and watching the events attentively in case something goes amiss.

Kaa-san smiles sharply at one of the guests, her expression bordering on a sneer. Rido mentally burns the vampire's appearance into her mind, promising to look him up later and bring him to ruin.

Tou-san is standing at Kaa-san's side, happily warding off most of the Aristicrats. Takeo-ojii is choosing to be a wallflower, blatantly glaring at anyone the gets near him. Nagamichi and his parents are happily showing off a boy with dark brown hair and sharp blue eyes.

Yup, everything seems to be going smoothly.

Finally, the ceremony begins. The twenty year old boys approach the thrones and kneel. The Department Heads- Takeo-ojii for the Military Division, Asato (who's filling in for her) for the Intelligence Department, Isaya Shoto for the Health Department, Fuuta Hiou for the Agriculture Department, Gatori Toma for the Magic Division, Ori (no one bothers asking for his first name) for the History-Keeping Department and Touya Souen filling in for the Finance Division- stand a fair distance behind them.

She'll eventually make an effort to remember them, but... her motivation to do so _now_ is... meh.

Kaa-san approaches a child at one end and converses with him. He eventually stands and announces something to the audience, then heads over to Toma and bows to him before standing at his side. Kaa-san moves to the next one, who does the same thing, but went over to Takeo-ojii. It happens over and over again, until all the children have chosen their career path.

She heads back to Tou-san's side, who announces something and everyone applauds before the dancing and the merryments begins once more, with the children happily interacting with their peers that had chosen the same career as them.

 _A success._

Rido smiles, leaning heavily onto the cat next to her.


	137. Play

**AN: Something from Rido's past should be posted up in _Memoirs_ chapter three! Sorry this drabble took so long! I wanted that out along with this one!**

 **Play**

At near dawn, Rido filled a basket full of foods under the heavy gaze of her father. She grinned cheekily at him and kissed his lips before heading out, accompanied by his familiar. Her mother's familiar flew off the branch she was perched on and soared into the air.

Rido took in the cool scent in the air and sped to a certain town that housed a certain Kiryu.

Once there, she took to the rooftops like badass assassin and zeroed in on her familiar's location. It had been four days since she had last seen the silver-haired man, so she wonders how this is going to play out. Did he rat her out? _Will_ he rat her out? Or will he play this game with her?

Rido has no idea what Shio will do, and something about it thrills her. Looks like she hasn't changed much from her first life.

 _Once a monster, always a monster._


	138. Breakfast

**AN: For Yatocat19** **, thanks for the review~! And, no. That monster is actually a legitimate thing, _completely_ not made up. Just look up Philippine mythological monsters and it'll be right there. It is _quite literally_ the most well-known monster throughout the country. The type of monster Rido had been is called "Manananggal." Even the ones I mentioned before the story time are also Philippine monsters. The baby one is called "Tiyanak" and the horse one is called "Tikbalang."** **Yup, for some reason Philippine monsters has something against babies.**

 **Breakfast**

She slips into Shio's house without bothering to knock. Her right eye tells her he's still asleep, and she doesn't want to bother him, something tells her he usually doesn't sleep so well. So she heads to the kitchen grabs the dining chair and drags it over to the stove.

She uses it to reach the counter. Once there, she sets the basket down and takes out a select few foods. Green tea, a loaf of bread and the ingredients to make porridge. Now Rido knows it really doesn't sound appetizing... but have you _seen_ Shio?

He's looks like a prisoner of war for Mayari's sake! He needs something light. Anything richer than this will be rejected by his body. So she sets to work, ignoring her father's curious, probing gaze as she puts all the ingredients together in a pot on low medium heat, then cut up a small amount of ginger and placing the pieces into the soup so it can absorb the flavor.

She grabs a kettle and pours cold water into it before putting the kettle over the fire... whatever you call in on the stove. Then cuts four pieces from the loaf. Rido waits for a few minutes before checking the soup and putting the heat low. She checks the water too, then jumps down to the floor to drag the chair over to the cabinets.

Rido takes out two bowls and two cups and uses her strings to place the cups on the dining table and the bowls near the pot. She jumps down the chair once more and drags it over to the stove, before jumping onto it to check on the kettle. It's boiling a little... so Rido throws in some tea leaves and sets the heat on low.

"Had a goodnight's sleep?" Rido asks teasingly. She slowly turns around to smile at the silver-haired man, standing frozen at the by the stairs. "Well, come on! Breakfast is almost ready."


	139. Cautious

**Cautious**

 _Acting like a creep is unexpectedly fun_ , Rido thought as Shio cautiously walks over to the dining table and sits onto the only other chair. He doesn't take his eyes off her, even when Tou-san brushes against her side and blatantly glares at him.

"Good morning." Shio greets, voice hoarse as if he'd been coughing. She flashes him a smile and grabs a ladle from a drawer and uses it to put some porridge into the bowls.

"Good morning to you too~!" Rido chirps. Then promptly puts the bowl down onto the counter to smack her head. "Ah! I can't believe I forgot the silverware..."

"Don't worry," Shio stands from his seat and plucks a couple of spoons and two table mats from the drawers near her. He quickly sets the table, and takes the filled bowl and places it on the side he had been sitting on. Rido filled the second bowl, and hands it over to Shio, who sets it across from his side. "So..."

"...Shio-kun, this is my father, Kanae Kuran. He can't be here right now, but this is the closest you'll probably get for today." Rido gestures to the cat sticking by her side like an affectionate, purring leech. "Tou-san, meet Shio Kiryu, my new friend."

The two exchange slow nods, bodies stiff under the sudden tension befalling the trio.


	140. Comfortable

**Comfortable**

 _What... what is this?_ Rido thinks, her smile perfectly in place. _Are they starting a new age of rivalry or something? Shio's not even my boyfriend, so why are sizing him up, Tou-san!?_

 _Beep. Beep._

"Shio-kun, a trivet." Rido directs as she turns off the stove and picks up the kettle. He shifts through the cabinets until he finds the item and sets it on the table before taking the kettle from her.

She hops off the chair and turned to drag it, but as she touched a leg, the silver-haired man picked the furniture up and brought it over to the table. Then he did the same to her, except he put Rido on top of the chair.

She frowned a bit, and turned to look at Tou-san to see his reaction. _Wait. Is that approval on your face!!!? Weren't you glaring at him earlier!?_

It honestly surprised her that Shio was comfortable enough to get this close to Rido. When they talked in the church the other day, he had been tightly gripping a knife, trying to hide it from her. It isn't hard to guess that it's an Anti-Vampire weapon, especially with how sure he was of it. He left go of it to take the snake though, so she'll count that as a double win... like a double rainbow. She really missed those things, especially since she sleeps during the day now.

"Let's eat." Rido announces with a smile. He nods back, before clapping his hands and murmuring, "Thanks for the food."

Ah, Japanese customs, gotta love some of them.


	141. Gentleman

**AN: For Yatocat19, nope~! Shio's just a Kiryu family member.**

 **Gentleman**

They eat in silence, atmosphere astronomically lighter than it had been earlier. Well, as light as it could be with Tou-san here anyway.

Seriously, the air around him is always heavy, it was just easier for her to get used to it because it feels just like a warm, heavy blanket. And she likes warmth. If she had an effective sleeping mask, she'd be sunbathing, but nope. She doesn't. She can't even use a blindfold since the knot bothers her.

Just thinking of all the times she failed in tying the knot stresses her out.

"It's getting colder." Rido comments eventually. She takes the bowl into the chair and slides off to the side. She drags the chair over to the sink and hops onto it to place them in there.

"My heater and clothes are adequate." Shio answers before sipping his tea. He stands from his seat and brings his dishes over. He puts them into the sink before picking Rido up by the waist and setting her down on the ground to drag the chair back over to the table. He rolls up his sleeves and says, "You cooked."

"What a gentleman." She grins sweetly. "You really didn't have to."

"I'm not yours." He shoots back, mechanically washing the dishes before drying them with a cloth and putting them all away. "Why did you come?"

"Well... I _did_ promise you." Rido comes over to the man, tugging him down to kneel and reaching into his breast pocket to take out her summon. She dismisses it before looking into his lavender eyes. "I don't break my promises."


	142. Waver

**Waver**

"So, stay home!" Rido cajoles him with an easy grin. "The Hunters here are probably familiar with the town members, so I won't really be able to go out without being recognized as an outsider."

She _really_ doesn't want to deal with any diplomacy bullshit right now. Rido does _not_ want to deal with Vampire Hunters glaring at her just because of what she is, nor does she want to deal with even more bullshit her Vampires will give her on how bad and uncouth the Hunters are.

"I can't." He answers with a frown. "I need to meet with the Hunter Branch Head to let them know I'm still alive."

"..." Rido crosses her arms thoughtfully. She actually wants to go out with him, but... the Hunters are a pain in the ass. She also doesn't want Shio to be suspected of pedophilia for playing with a four year old looking kid that's obviously not his. _Maybe..._ "I'll come with. You better treat me well!"

"...Won't you get recognized by the Hunters?" Shio sighed, picking her up anyways and setting her against his hip.

"I haven't gone through my Intro to Society thing yet. No one knows what I look like." She shot back cheerfully. Then lowered her eyelashes to look at the man meaningfully. "Besides, don't you want me?"

"My life would be easier if you weren't in it." Okay, she can give him that one. What with basically forcing him to keep her a secret from his sister. And now forcing him to lie about her to the Hunters. "I'm not yours anyway."

"I'm trying to convince you to be mine." Rido informs Shio, allowing herself to be a tad more serious than usual. "You're wavering, so I'm considering than a good sign."

His lip quirks up a little. "I know."


	143. Park

**Park**

"Pick me up here once you're done with meeting." Rido says, lightly whacking his arm to put her down. They're a couple blocks from the Headquarters, standing infront of a park gate. It's early, so no one's really there yet. "I'll be waiting~!"

"Yes, yes." Shio sighs. He stuffs his hands into his pockets and strolls down the sidewalk, acting as if the past half-hour of his life hadn't just happened. "I'll see you later."

"Stay safe~!" Rido waves enthusiastically, doing her best to look like her age. She kinda wants to send a familiar after him, but she needs to exercise trust if she wants to even have a _chance_ of winning him over.

The girl ambles into the park, stopping a little to wait for her father to come down from his perch in a tree with her mother. She smiles happily at the bird, before continuing her walk and enjoying the sights. It's a nice day out, the sun is shining with a few large clouds idling in the sky. The air is cool enough for a fog to appear from her breath. This park has such a nice atmosphere, it's almost making Rido relax her guard...

"Why, hello."

 _Almost._


	144. Stranger

**Stranger**

"Good morning~!" Rido chirps, playing the part of a naive, innocent brat. She subtly brushes a hand over her father's side, and gives a Tomoko-worthy smile at the stranger. It's an old lady, dressed in a subtle purple dress and a pastel pink cardigan. Her white hair is pulled back in a tight bun and her expression is... well, it looks like an iconic, "Hey, kid... I have candy in my truck, want some?"

"What's a cute child like you doing out here all alone?" The lady cups her cheek as she barely pulls off a worried look. How stupid does she think Rido is?

"I'm waiting for my uncle!" She smiles happily, managing to pull it off despite the fact she wanted to bare her nonexistent fangs... they should grow when she's nearing her 70th year or so. "He's in a meeting with his boss!"

"Oh?" Her grown deepens. "What about your mom and dad?"

"They're on a trip, so Uncle's babysitting me until they come back!" Rido clasps her hands behind her back, and tilts her head slightly.

"Well, I don't feel comfortable leaving such a cute and sweet child out here in the cold. Come over to my house, you can help me bake some cookies!"

 _How smooth of you~... Too bad_ I'm _the one you encountered._


	145. House

**House**

Rido is led to a worn down house with a dilapidated, depressed-looking roof. Seriously, it's even making _her_ feel slightly more tired than usual.

"Miss," Rido calls out with a tone that sounds curious. "Why does your house look so sad?"

"...Well," The old lady says thoughtfully, "let's just say it's lived a _long_ life."

"Whoa..." Rido muses in amazenent. _How have the Hunters been missing this? She's way too obvious!!!_

"Now, now. Don't fall behind young lady. We don't want you getting lost now, do we?" Rido feels glad she asked Tou-san to hide his aura when they sensed the lady. This is just too funny!

She stifles a giggle from behind the stranger, and enters the house.


	146. Feelings

**Feelings**

Rido is incapable of differentiating all the feelings she's having about the lady. Hell, she doesn't even know _why_ she's playing with her. Whether it's curiosity, the familiar thrill of a hunt, or her soft spot for children, the brunette is having trouble figuring out which is which. Rido will contemplate on this later, though. Doing so now would take too long, and she doesn't want to risk missing Shio.

"The place doesn't look like anyone is living here, miss..." Rido pipes up, making her voice lower to a point it sounds subdued and trembles it just enough to be noticed. "A-Are you sure you're living here?"

"Well. Aren't _you_ a rude one?" The lady snaps, closing the door a touch harder than necessary. Rido surveys the place, and finds it empty with cracks on the wall, the floor full of dust and little rats scurrying here and there. It stinks of piss, and she sees brown stains that can only belong to old blood. Judging from the even more disgusting scent lurking under the excrements, there are probably bodies piled up in one of the rooms.

 _How... have the Hunters been missing this?_

Rido can _at least_ identify the revulsion in the mix of her feelings.


	147. Crime

**Crime**

"Such a cute child..." The lady cooed before licking her lips. "I'm sure your blood will be..."

Rido paints fear on her face and promptly bolts into one of the rooms. This is the deciding moment for the lady. Even if she is a Level E, the victims she chooses to hunt will decide the death Rido will bestow upon her. It is the least she can do for one of her people, even though she already wrote her death sentence for the crime of trying to drink blood from Rido without her expressed permission.

The corpses, in varying stages of rot are all children. There's no sign of an adult body, not even anyone in their teens.

She is _sloppy._ A crime in and of itself. The part of her that cares for children rages at the sight of their careless death. And the new part of her, the part that bloomed in her many years ago in this life and was- is- nurtured by her family hisses in pure, vengeful vindictiveness, _"She's trying to take us away from our family. Tear her slowly, gleefully, **painfully** , for comitting such a crime!"_


	148. Unforgivable

**Children**

 _Her screams are satisfactory..._ Rido shudders and bites back a moan from the pleasure the lady's screams and pleads give her. She idly kicks her reaching hand away and revels at the sight of the appendage tearing off the writhing body.

She had never found pleasure in torture in such a way as _this._ In her previous life, it had been nothing more than a way to obtain information. But Rido also knows she's only finding pleasure _now,_ because of the children her victim had preyed on before her.

 _A disgusting waste of the universe._ Rido smiles ever so lovingly at the vampiress before her. She had avoided children like plagues in this life, with the exception of Nagamichi. It's just awkward for her to act like _one of them_ instead of being the caretaker. But children, for the terrors they cause and how much shitty they act in their _Terrible Twos_ and their _Rebellious Age_ , they are a _gift_ from the world. They grow into either the world's worst nightmare or they contribute little things, big things that help their fellow humanity.

Humans are so different from one another. It's the reason why they fascinate Rido so much. And why she chose to befriend them in the past, and why she's befriending one now.

 _So for one of my own to take them for granted_ _enough to hunt them_... She stomps on the vampire's shoulder, who chokes from the pain of it breaking. Rido's grin widens to the point it borders on perverse. _It is unforgivable._


	149. Here

**Here**

" _Stop_ it, Rido." A soft voice reaches her ears and a raven perches on her left shoulder. Her mother looks at her with one eye and croons a little. "It is enough. Shio will be done with his meeting soon."

"My Rido, my daughter, my love. You shouldn't have to do this." Another voice. A warm, furry body slides up to her right side, purring like a motor. He glances at the body before them, still alive but on the edge of death. His entire being radiates pure apathy.

"You have done enough." A gruff voice this time. A bull dog steps in the line of her sight and stomps on the vampire's neck, turning it into dust.

"You need to calm down, love. You are safe." A honey badger steps in front of her and stands on her hind legs, her front ones gently pushing Rido into turning around. She complies, if only for the fact the honey badger's eyes are a reddish brown haze with icy blue specks in her left eye.

 _I_ am _calm._ Rido thinks, the _rageinsanitysorrow_ long since culled. _Kaa-san, Tou-san, Ojii and Obaa are here after all._

By the gods, for all her ranting of children earlier, only _they_ can drive her into this. Rido can only love them to the point of near obsession.


	150. Path

**Path**

Shio walks into the park to find Rido sitting smack dab in the middle of the path. A raven is perched on her left shoulder and a cat is curled in her lap. She's flanked by a bull dog and a honey badger. There is a moment here and Rido can see he doesn't really want to interupt.

"You're here." She states, a bit subdued but calm and grounded. "I'm glad."

The atmosphere had finally been broken, but her family doesn't seem inclined to leave. The sun is bathing them with a warm, soft light. The clouds are slowly wafting around in the sky, forming into different shapes and sizes on a whim.

"Would you like to join us?" She invites casually. Shio stares at the quintet for long moment, then sits beside her and Takeo-ojii. She can't help but giggle over the fact he's indulging her, sitting in the middle of the pathway where everyone can see. He's seeing more than he should, seeing her more vulnerable than she's ever shown in front of _not-family_ , something Nagamichi isn't even privy to.

Shio is silent- stoic. The man with a body so thin it looks like it'll break at the slightest breeze and with long, braided hair effeminating him is sitting right beside her as if to accompany her and to _guard_ her from the world.

Kaa-san croons in approval. Tou-san's purr gradually dies off. And Obaa and Ojii eye him for a second before looking away.

"Thank you." Rido smiles softly to Shio. "I appreciate it."


	151. Late

**Late**

"Ow!"

Rido turns to look at Nagamichi, feeling a bit surprised. They've just finished sparring with one another, but she's never injured Nagamichi enough to warrant this response.

She blinks in surprise when the scent of blood wafts into her nose, and she frowns thoughtfully. Rido strides up to the boy and commands, "Open your mouth."

He complied immediately and she sees his canine teeth looking a tad sharper than usual.

"Ah," Rido says lightly. "Nagamichi's fangs are coming in."

"Really!?" Nagamichi looks at her, eyes wide in bewilderment. He had been late in this aspect- most Aristocrats get their fangs when they're nearing sixty (they look like eleven year olds). Nagamichi, in all that he looks almost thirteen, is actually eighty-four... years old.

So he's late. He is _very_ late. _So_ late, vampires thought the amount of human blood running through his veins is dominant. They actually feared the Vampire Hunters would recruit him to their side.

Stupid Vampire physiology making Aristocrats age faster than her. She still looks like a fucking four year old, dammit!


	152. Vampire

**Vampire**

Nagamichi's parents looked overjoyed when Rido broke the news to them. As much as a couple of icebergs could look happy anyway. Takeo-ojii also gave off the air of undeniable pride and it might just just be her imagination, but it kinda seems like when he's walking, he's actually strutting...

 _I'm gonna pretend I didn't see it. For the sake of my mental and physical health!_

Thankfully the fang thing is a personal affair, the family themselves are the ones to organize and host the party. If she remembers correctly, the affair happens when the fangs have matured, thereby marking one as an official vampire. On that night, they'll drink their first mouthfuls of blood from the person they trust the most (which would also be the one they'd prefer drinking from until they meet their lover)... in front of everyone. Like the creeps they are!

It's still a far off thing for Rido, so she has time to mentally prepare herself for this ordeal. It just makes her uncomfortable putting the one she trusts the most in such a vulnerable position.


	153. Imagination

**I** **magination**

The next month, Rido sees off her parents and Takeo-ojii on their way to Nagamichi's house- mansion- whatever it is. She waves happily at them, cheerfully calling out, "Make sure to tell me who it is, okay~!"

After all, if it was someone she didn't know, she needs to prepare herself to get closer to whoever that is. She'll be seeing a lot more of that person after all. Unless it's one of his parents. Vampire children normally pick one of them.

She strolls down into the basement (she will never call it a dungeon- it's too tacky) with Tou-san, experiments already being thought up in her mind.

Now, she had never been a scientist in her previous life. But Rido has never lacked imagination! Especially with anime/manga/light novel/fanfiction around! Add that to her surprisingly good memory in this life, and she has a ship load of things to try out. Like trying to replicate Naruto's genjutsu ( **AN: I do not own.)** or maybe even Alucard's walking through walls thing ( **AN: Again, I do not own.)** Either way, this is gonna be a very fun night...


	154. Accuse

**Accuse**

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!" A little brunette girl with heterochromatic eyes cackled gleefully as she sped through the walls, carrying her father's familiar around like a teddy bear.

She ran and she ran, like she was in race for a Katekyo Hitman Reborn **(AN: I do not own.)** limited edition official sountrack- sung by the characters themselves! That was, until...

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHA- AGHA!"

Her father leapt out of her embrace. And in her surprise and adrenaline-induced euphoria, she promptly forgot to keep her power coursing through her body and ran smack dab into a wall!

Her little body lay flat on the floor, heaving and ignoring the pain her face and her back are experiencing.

 _"Meow~."_

She looks into icy blue eyes, and accuses with a happy smile, "Tou-san's laughing, isn't he~?"


	155. Granted

**Granted**

The feline responds by lightly pawing Rido's face. She giggles at the soft feeling and obligingly sits up. Rido reaches out for the cat, fisting what little fur she can and gently tugging him to her.

He sprawls himself across her lap, and purrs contently when Rido buried her face onto his back. It's a habit of Rido's, done from the time Tou-san introduced his familiar to her. She doesn't know how long she stayed in that position, but she knows she's been there long enough for her muscles to protest against moving.

These types of days, where Tou-san lets her run wild, are days she'll never take for granted. As the future Queen, she always has to conscious of her poise- no one wants to follow an unruly person unless trust had already been established, after all.

The Vampire and Hunter relations are still unstable. She doesn't know when it started- Rido just knows that at some point, it _ha_ _d_ been stable. But she _really_ doesn't like running damage control for it.

Specifically, stupid vampires and stupid hunters who've somehow found a way to work together for the sake of instigating a war!...Between the two. Why can't they just fight against each other and be done with it?

Rido had solved _one_ case with Asato, but for whatever reason, new ones keep popping up! The only good thing about it is it's not a Hydra situation!


	156. Smug

**Smug**

When Kaa-san, Tou-san and Jii-san came back with a blushing Nagamichi in tow, they were smug. Like on the verge of rocking the constipation look smug. Rido doesn't know who Nagamichi chose, but it must be someone they're highly proud of.

"So..." Rido starts, looking at them meaningfully. "Who is it?"

Nagamichi's blush gets even worse at this. Tou-san just looks even more proud, and Jii-chan just snorts in amusement. Kaa-san squeals like a fujoshi who's favorite BL couple finally came together to roll around in the *ahem.*

Rido, herself, just feels more confused. Just who did Nagamichi pick?

 **AN: I have no poll, but please type in the comment section who _you_ think it is!**


	157. Glow

**AN: And the answer is... *drumrolls***

 **Glow**

Rido didn't find out until a few days later, after a training spar with Jii-san. They were discussing the mistakes the other made and giving tips on how to corrrect it, when Nagamichi's eyes glowed the telling red and he uncomfortably rubbed his throat.

"If you'll excuse me, Rido-hime." He bows politely to her, before taking a step towards her and turning his body slightly so he could slip past. He walked to Takeo-ojii, tugged him down and brought his lips to his neck.

 _Ohhh..._ Rido thought as the scent of blood hit her nose. The realization was followed by worry. It's one thing to pick a friend near your age, but it's another thing entirely when a child chooses an adult over their own parents. She hopes they won't hold any grudges.

Rido would hate to put them down.

 **AN: Dear readers, please remember the person actually has to _be_ there in the ceremony for the child to choose said perso** **n**


	158. Orchestrate

**AN: Inspired by, one of the guest commentators who suggested Zero be paired up with someone who'll put him first.**

 **Orchestrate**

Rido scowls as she leans on one of the walls and uncertainly climbs down the stairs. The downsides of having the spellroom in the dungeons. She will forever bear a special hatred of stairs.

Plus... the tombs are here too. She's not bothered by working in the same area as living corpses, (hell, she lives on top of this) it's just that... _he's_ here.

That Yandere Ancestor who obsesses over his descendant because she _apparently_ looked like the Hood Lady.

She doesn't want to be near the guy who orchestrated (or rather, will orchestrate) her death. The one who she might offer her nephew too. She still doesn't really consider this body as hers just yet. Not until the Bella-who-got-both-guys passes adulthood anyways.

But maybe, Rido could take a look. Just one look at the male lead who managed to impregnate the main girl but still lost her to the other guy anyway. Besides... she doesn't think his dried up husk can read minds as she fills hers with one of her favorite yaoi pairings, starring him and a certain... *ahem.*


	159. Creator

**AN: Inspired by, _Kiss Him, Not Me_ anime/manga~! If you haven't watched it (or read it), you haven't lived.**

 **Creator**

 _Wow, he really looks like a mummy._ Rido thinks from her perch on the corner of his stone coffin whatnot. _A well-preserved mummy. Like the ones from Pompeii._

"Is my Rido curious about our family history?"

She looks up to see Kaa-san and Tou-san entering the tomb, the cat already dispelling into the shadows. Rido's expression unconsciously softens and she nods.

"This man here is the creator of our bloodline," Tou-san starts quietly, as if he would wake up the corpse. "His name is Kaname Kuran."

The guy who always looked depressed, yeah she knows his name. She just doesn't want to acknowledge it. She knows he favors humans, she really doesn't mind that. She also doesn't mind the fact he had a hand in the making of Anti-Vampire weapons. (There are a lot of them that simply need to be put down like the beasts they are.)

No. Rido just doesn't want to acknowledge a straight guy who she shipped with another guy. It's just uncomfortable associating with people whom you've had dirty thoughts of and inside debates on who the seme and uke would be.


	160. Order

**Order**

"But..." Kanae Tou-san continued, face turning cold. Kaa-san bit her lip and looked down on her feet, her fringe hiding her expression. "Kaname-sama left us seven thousand years ago. We knew the vampire race had become uncouth and revile to him, but we thought we had been enough."

 _We weren't._ Rido finished in her mind, fear morphing into hate. No one deserves to put such an expression on their faces- she would kill him for it, Kuran or no.

"He fought alongside humans and oversaw the creation of Anti-Vampire weapons. But at the end of the war," Tou-san glanced at Kaa-san, "he came back here and performed the Aging Spell- or, for us Purebloods, the Sleeping Corpse Spell."

Rido could feel Kaa-san's eyes on her. But she couldn't stop herself from glaring at the corpse.

"Kaname-sama is known as the 'Runaway Kuran' because of this fact." Rin Kaa-san says gently. "And, though we may bear a grudge against his actions, it doesn't change the fact he created our bloodline. So we will give him our love forever, and any grievances we hold will be suppressed and _never_ acted on."

Kaa-san's eyes are as heavy as Tou-san's presence. It is a blatant order. She knows Rido would get rid of him if she didn't say amything. It's not like it won't be easy anyway, with him in this state.


	161. Grateful

**Grateful**

Rido watched the clouds wisp to and fro in the sky. It's a beautiful day to spend outside. That's why she's out. In the park. With Shio.

She's been teasing him about dating a four year old girl for the past hour. He'd taken it like a champ, and Rido applauded him loudly for it.

Now she knows to publicly clap as loudly as possible to make Shio cow before her wishes.

"Do you believe in God?" Shio asked. He's laying on the grass, an arm tucked underneath his head and the other spread out to cushion Rido's head.

"I do." She said lightly. "As much as I believe in the other gods."

Rido has never told anyone but she also worships Lilith, the Mother of Demons. She owes her existence to the first feminist in history, and she'll forever be grateful to her.


	162. Reports

**Reports**

Rido strolled throught the hallways, easily finding her office due to habit.

"Rido-hime." Asato greeted with a bow and a stack of documents in his hands. She nodded in acknowledgement and went over to sit in her chair. He gently placed the stack in front of her. "Today I have reports on the officers progress in finding the culprit for _that_ case, as well as from... _them_."

"Good." She said shortly, flipping through the pages and committing them all into memory before handing them back to Asato. "Burn them."

"Understood, Rido-hime."


	163. Rot

**AN: Inspired by the light novel, Genius Doctor: Black Belly Miss written by North Night and Mesmerizing Ghost Doctor by someone (whose name wasn't translated)- both of which are translated by Misty Cloud Translations.** **And The Reader and Protagonist Definitely Have to Be in True Love by some name I can't pronounce (no one translated his/her name) and translated by BC Novels.**

 **Rot**

Rido observed the rotting skin with apathy. It's a constructed poison, made by her's truly for interrogation purposes. What does it do?

The poison does the aforementioned above, plus it has a small amount of aphrodisiac. The victim will become hypersensitive to touch- from the hair touching their skin to the clothes they wear. With the humiliation and horror they'll feel as their bodies seek release whilst watching their beauty decay before their eyes, it should be easy to pry all the necessary information. But it isn't perfect, it'll be a while before it could be.

"Meow~."

Rido glances at her Tou-san's familiar guiltily. He's laying on the floor with Kaa-san's familiar snuggling beside him. Both of them are watching her, worry deepening their eyes. Rido's been cooped up in the room for three days straight.

"I know," She croons gently. "I'm sorry I've been keeping you, Tou-san, Kaa-san. I'll be up soon."

She turns back to the affected skin, pleased to realize there's no pain. In her view, it's a requirement to self-experiment when creating new poisons. With her Pureblood physique, it would be stupid to pass up the opportunity to simultaneously immunize herself from her poisons and to discover the effects of it intimately.

She sighs a little, then flares her power over her arm to eradicate the poison. Rido casually wipes the rotted skin off her face and heads back over to her worktable. She glances at the pair guiltily before assuring, "I just need to tweak a few things, is all."


	164. Emphasis

**AN: Inspired by the manga/light novel, Youjo Senki by Carlo Zen~!** **Welcome to the TFC family, spicyrash, and thank you for your thoughts~!**

 **Emphasis**

"Asato..." Rido all but purred at the shivering blond. "Since the new squads have been causing you a headache, why not let _me_ take charge?"

Asato pales even further and gently shakes his head. "I would advise Rido-hime against such an action, especially considering the last time she had taken over the new squads' training regime."

She pouts at the mention, making the blond flush red suddenly. _That can't be good for his health..._

"Did I," Rido huffs as childishly as she can, "or did I not form loyal and competent officers?"

"Rido-hime," Asato deadpans, dropping formality in his exasperation. "They literally cower whenever they sense you near."

"They are obedient, are they not?" Rido says, ignoring what Asato just said. "Surely, you would want that from your officers."

"They _faint_ whenever _you_ ," Asato actually glares at her during this emphasis, "pass by them. We needed to construct barracks because they kept passing out."


	165. Visit

**AN: To Lily Noir, thank you for your kind thoughts~! And any questions you have put in the review section will _eventually_ be answered in _Memoirs._ That thing _is_ there to fill in the "gaps" (aka other people's pov and their history) and for omake reasons.**

 **Visit**

"Ori-sama," Rido greets as she enters his office. "I hear the History-Keeping Department requires a new building to house records?"

The blond startles a little before staring at Rido, bewilderment in his eyes. He quickly puts down his pen and politely stands to gesture Rido over to a seat.

"Rido-hime." He rasps, sounding as if it was the first time he'd spoken in years. "I apologize for the mess, I was not expecting a visit."

"No worries," Rido smiles gently, taking the criticism and advice to heart. Instead of sitting on one if the loveseats, she heads over to the table and unfolds a map of the castle grounds on it. "I came here to ask Ori-sama a few questions regarding the location he wishes to have the building, and the size he expects it to be."


	166. Conscious

**Conscious**

Rido stares at the map intently, heading over to the location.

"Rido-hime, is this truly necessary?" Ori asks, gaze heavy on her form. "Surely, the only thing that matters about the building is how near it is to the department."

"That may be true," Rido says absentmindedly. After a moment, she stops and turns around to pin Ori with a sharp look. "Be that as it may, the appearance of the location sets the tone of our fellow citizens' impression of the library. The History-Keeping Department is well-established and is deeply respected by our citizens. It would not do anyone well if it's appearance, living or inanimate, betrays their expectations."

She continues her way to the location on the map, the platinum blond man following behind her with a furrow in his brow. Rido had never been one to argue, uncaring of the opinions of people outside her circle, but she is preparing herself as much add possible. As Queen, she'll have to be ready to take care of people she would normally ignore, and be more conscious of their views and wishes.

It's a pain, but Rido is learning and that's all that matters to her when it comes to this.


	167. Done

**AN: To spicyrash: Eh? *sticks an emoji with a shocked mark* I wasn't really planning on making Rido a yandere, the only people she'll be possessive over would be family and friends. But even so, Rido had never been a fan of caged birds (if you know what I mean). The most she'll be over her "people" would be an overprotective,** **doting person. But then, no one really predict the future... so, thanks for the idea~!**

 **Done**

"..." Rido stood stockstill, face carefully blank.

"..." Ori, on the other hand, just looks as he always does, depressed and just _done._

The place looks like something sucked the life out of it. The ground a light brown color of bone dry and the surrounding plants bare and dead... even though it's late spring. A breeze carefully blew off to their left, legitimately rolling a tumble weed along.

Rido looked up at the man with an eyebrow raised, as if saying, "See? What did I tell you?"

"This place is acceptable." He says after a moment, voice strained as if he forced the words out. Rido's other eyebrow joins the first. Did he just-

 _Oh... You wanna play Old man~? I'll be more than happy to oblige._


	168. Insincere

**Insincere**

The next night, Rido speeds through her paperwork and heads over to Ori's office.

"I apologize for the intrusion~!" She says as childishly and insincerely as possible. Rido skips over to one of the loveseats and plops herself down without so much as a prompt from the owner of the room. "I thought you'd like some company~! Besides, a little girl like me could use some advice from someone who knows our kind's history so well~!"

She giggles lightly, channeling one of the egostical, maniac characters after her own heart, Byakuran. **(AN: I do not own- he is Akira Amano's character from the manga/anime _Katekyo Hitman Reborn._ )**

Gods, she has to admire the guts and mind of that marshmallow-obsessed freak. He is the _perfect_ person to channel for the things she had schemed for this man.

"Now, there's this situation in one of the cases that I've heard has happened before..."


	169. Level

**Level**

"Do you or do you _not_ have a hobby to do?" Rido wonders out loud one night, watching the platinum blond man sign one of the documents. After a week of being bothered, he began to blatantly ignore her. "Mm~... It sure doesn't seem like it. Oh, I know~! _I'll_ find you one. No need to worry, Ori-chama~!"

 _Well, he's not fully ignoring me yet..._ Rido revised in her mind, satisfied at the barely hidden full-body cringe he just did. She let him know her appreciation through a shark-like grin she'd been perfecting for this moment.

She has to admit, even playing a similar role to Byakuran has been wearing on her nerves. But when she sees the Shikamaru **(AN: I do not own.)** level of "What a pain..." expression whenever she enters his office, it made it _all_ worth it.


	170. Desire

**AN: To spicyrash: Yeah, well... the best I can give you is that being a yandere is _not_ in Rido's plan. I gotta give you _some_ suspense, after all.**

 **Desire**

Rido grins slyly when she hears Ori grit his teeth.

In her arms is a single book. A book titled Getting Old? Try These Hobbies! hand written by her.

She knows it isn't funny. Not to him at least. But she wants to see him snap. Mostly because, from what she's seen so far, Ori is _so_ repressive. The most she can get had been grunts and cringes. Rido doesn't really think it's healthy for the platinum blond. So she'll tease, and probe and joke until she gets the desired results. Plus, fostering relationships with other Purebloods will hopefully gain her some protection by the time she makes her debut.

In the meantime, her next move requires her to take a step back and quite possibly avoid him for the next month or so.


	171. Gift

**AN: To Iris D. Peverill: I can't say that she _isn't_ bored. The building thing is part of her punishment after all- it's mentioned there** **in drabble 134 (titled, _Stupid_ ) and annoying him had been a spur of a moment thing when she realized he was going to be difficult. Rido isn't one to risk her life easily, but she does act rather impulsively at times- though she makes up for it through plans and schemes that make her snake fellows (*coughs*Orochimaru*coughs*Voldemort*coughs*) proud.**

 ***Blushes* I, um, got carried away with this one.**

 **Gift**

Rido spends the next month speeding through her paperwork and giving Asato a covered basket with orders to have it sent to Ori before heading home. She does this every night. She doesn't visit the blond, often contacting him through letters instead, and doesn't even acknowledge him whenever they pass each other in the halls.

The complete 180 had baffled him, she can tell. Especially since the letters contain her usual needling and jabs on him. The baskets also contain gifts belonging to the following categories: Gardening, Baking, Knitting, Puzzles, Crosswords and books featuring advice for the elderly.

And yes, the following categories above are hobbies Rido had seen the elderly take some time after retirement.

He's taken to staring at her in bewilderment whenever he sees her on good days, and outright glaring at her on the days she takes her jabs a _little_ too far. Her citizens now literally freeze and stare at Ori for his emotional displays. Apparently, his depressed apathy had been the only emotion they've ever seen on him. Even Kaa-san and Tou-san had admitted as much!

So she kept it up, then one day...

"Rido-hime..." Asato places a familiar looking basket on her desk with a cold expression. Rido raises an eyebrow at this. What the hell did a basket ever do to you? "A gift... from Ori-sama."

He still hasn't taken his hand off the handle.

"Asato, let go." Rido says, hands slowly stretching out.

"Rido-hime, Ori-sama is a rather hostile vampire. He may have gifted the princess something dangerous. Perhaps it would be safer if I dispo-"

"Asato." Rido sighs, then narrows her eyes a little. "Let go. I can handle it."

He reluctantly let go of the handle and silently hovers as she slowly takes the cover off to reveal the contents...

"...Wood blocks?" Rido asks aloud, baffled as she the item. It's a box. A box with a cover easy to take off and had several holes of certain shapes. Inside the the box? Wood blocks of said shapes... "This is a baby's toy..."

 _Ori_ \- that apathetically depressed motherfucker- had sent Rido, the Head of the Intelligence Department and the heir to the kingdom of their kind, baby toys.

Rido entire body shakes as she blankly stares at the toy. Growing more and more prominent until Asato breaks with a, "Pfft..."

"Upu...GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!" Rido breaks her composure spectacularly, repeatedly hitting her desk until her cackles die off into wheezes. Asato himself has fallen to the floor, doing the same thing as her. "Haaa~... To think he actually went down to my level... Perhaps I need revise a few things..."


	172. Talk

**Talk**

Rido stops ignoring him in the hallways.

She doesn't outright disrespect him, treating him the same way she had before she decided to annoy him, but she does hint at _certain_ contents in the recent letters she sent him.

She managed to make him scowl and deadpan~! Huzzah~! Progress!

Sorry, she wanted to try that at least once.

But Rido has been seeing a few of her agents spying on Ori, and he already knows of them- judging from the dead fish eyes he's been giving her before turning to her agents hiding spots. She can only hide a grimace and subtly shrug to him.

Rido and Asato need to talk.


	173. Wrong

**AN: To Lily Noir: Yeah, let's just call it AU, mostly because my brain conveniently forgets things and thus, covers it up with something else. If you look around, you'll notice a couple spells that are named. It'll hint what my headcannon is when it concerns the vampire age thing. Rido doesn't truly know everything going on even though it's her "job" to, mostly because things about the body is common sense to the adults, so they don't find the need to explain it to her**. **Rido is none the wiser about it.**

 **Wrong**

"Asato." Rido greets as she enters her office and locks the door. "Let's talk."

"...Rido-hime?" The blond asks uncertainly.

"I understand you are worried over Ori-sama's attention... on me." The brunette says blandly. Asato nervously bites his lip and nods slowly. "Though I appreciate your concern, sending agents to observe the poor man is unacceptable!"

He freezes and, at moment, Rido realizes something is wrong.

"Rido-hime," Asato says slowly, "what agents?"


	174. Rabbits

**Rabbits**

Rido almost glares at the quartet sitting seiza-style on the floor of her office, shivering like rabbits. They're officers- officers _she_ trained. Suffice to say, Rido is less than happy with this.

"I do apologize for the trouble they have caused Ori-sama." Rido bows lowly to the man, Asato quickly glaring the quartet to follow her lead and perform a dogeza. Then, he too, bows alongside her. "I will ensure this does not happen again."

"I will hold Rido-hime to that." Ori murmurs, nodding his head and leaving at the unspoken prompt. All six straighten when the door clicks shut, and the four are caught under two pairs of eyes flashing in cold anger.

Rido scowls and, channeling Takeo-Ojii on a bad day, growls, "State your excuses now."


	175. Disobey

**Disobey**

Her Takeo-Ojii sent her agents to spy on Ori.

 _Rido's_ grandfather- who doesn't really give much shit on what she gets up to unless it puts her in immediate danger- sent officers Rido trained _herself_ to spy on Ori.

 _"What the fuck!?"_ She asked out loud to no one in particular. Rido can't even get angry with the culprit about this. _No on_ _e_ \- except Rin Kaa-san- dares to disobey Takeo-Ojii. Not even Ori. The best she can do is ask him nicely to _not_ to do it anymore and hope he doesn't ignore her request!

She takes a deep breath and stares at the four shivering rabbits in front of her.

"You three." Rido doesn't even bother her killing intent. "You're dismissed. _You._ Stay."


	176. Thought

**Thought**

"Garei Toya." Rido gestures for him to sit on of the chairs. "It has been awhile."

"Indeed, Rido-hime." He says cordially, ignoring the blond glaring at him from behind her. Really, Asato can be a bit predictable at times. "Is there something you require of me?"

Rido observed the only agent she trained who doesn't cower in her presence. "Have you given enough thought on my offer?"

"...I'm afraid not, Rido-hime." He looks down submissively and bows in his seat.

"Please do then." She sighs, allowing a hint of exasperation go through, and waves a hand to dismiss him. "You may leave now. Have a good evening, Garei Toya."


	177. Assumption

**Assumption**

Asato closes the door behind the orange-haired man, leaving it just the two of them once more.

"Asato." Rido calls to the blond. Once his attention went onto her, she bowed as deeply as she did for Ori just earlier. "I apologize for my mistake. I should have taken my own teachings to heart and investigated instead of making an assumption."

"Rido-hime has nothing to apologize for." Asato said softly, hands hovering over her form as if hesitating from pulling her up. "I know how I can be at times. If I had trusted your abilities any less, I truly would have sent agents to spy on Ori-sama."

"That doesn't excuse my false accusation." Rido straightens and looks into his eyes. Her mind clouds itself with memories and her heart grows weary. "Assumptions can get you killed."


	178. Cheeky

**Cheeky**

Rido walks in on a group of Aristocrats trying to offer their blood to a pissed off Takeo-Ojii. Keyword: _Trying._

"Um... Excuse me~?" She asks childishly. They may know her as a the youngest Kuran, but that doesn't mean they know she's smart enough to be the head of the Department of Intelligence. That's what Asato is for. "Why are you hurting yourselves~?"

 _Get the fuck away from my grandfather._ Is her true message. Plus, she wouldn't pass the oppportunity to shame them. Blood exchange is something "children" shouldn't be privy to, after all.

The group hastily cover the wounded parts, before taking the time to look at her.

"Rido-hime!" They immediately surround her. She ignores the barrage of flattery and smiles cheekily up at them. One moment passes, then another. Just as the third moment ends, three heavy powers slam down into the room.

Rido turns her head to the door and sees Rin Kaa-san glowering at the entourage and Kanae Tou-san a bit behind her, looking frighteningly blank. Too bad she can't see Takeo-Ojii's expression from here. Rido thinks it would have looked funny.


	179. Converge

**Converge**

"Kaa-san~! Tou-san~!" Rido completely discards the Aristocrats right there and then, in favor of running into Rin Kaa-san's arms.

"My Rido~!" She hums happily. "To think I would find my baby surrounded by full-grown Aristocrats, even though she hasn't had her Introduction yet."

There's something dangerous and cold is converging somewhere behind Rido, but she's not gonna bother paying attention to it. Kaa-san is tense enough to imitate a statue after all, and that takes priority.

Rido had never seen her rage go cold before.


	180. Resign

**AN: Sorry it took so long everyone! I have no excuse. *bows***

 **Diana: Thank you for your kind thoughts~! Yes, I am a fellow light novel reader but am sadly, too lazy to make an account.** **I'm a big fan of the danmei (aka chinese word for "yaoi") novels too~!**

 **Resign**

Rido frowns as she examines her mother's core. It looks grim and resigned, something Rido, herself, is familiar with.

The crowd is silent and still, until Takeo-Ojii snaps, _"Get the fuck out."_

They bolt out the room like a herd of deers and Tou-san closes and locks the door behind the last one, a Silent Barrier spell spilling out of his lips. Rido leaps out Kaa-san's arms and leads her to sit on a couch, opting to sit beside her in silent support, as her father does when he stands next to her.

Rido waits as patiently as she could, a gentle expression masking her anxiety as Rin Kaa-san gathers her courage to spit the words out. "Today, a war supporting faction that flew under the radar attacked our meeting with the Vampire Hunters and incited war."


	181. Proud

**_Proud_**

 _"Rido-chan," Rin Kaa-san_ _began one day. They're situated in her office, t_ _he furniture broken and paperwork, beyond saving_ _. Grunts are cleaning the place up, as quick and efficient as they can. The MWSSTAH guy is sitting on the floor beside her, a blanket Kaa-san pulled out of nowhere, on his shoulders. "_ _Kaa-san is very proud of you- of your use of knowledge to help her."_

Eh?

 _"Kaa-san loves Rido-chan with_ all _her heart, and is very proud of Rido-chan. No matter what kind of life she lived and will live." She continues quietly, something thrumming in the air. Her eyes are fixated on the idiot, eyes ironically peaceful and demure. No one seems to hear them. "Kaa-san knows Rido-chan has not always been Rido Kuran, of the Royal Pureblood line."_

 _Something grips her spine- a cold grip that squeezes it painfully. Rido smiles lightly, warmth emanating from her eyes. But she can't hide the way her back straightened, her muscles tense as if to recieve a blow._

 _"Rido-chan," Rin says, her lips curving into a gentle smile, "how would you like to become Head of the Intelligence Department?"_


	182. Bodyguards

**AN: To spicyrash, you'll have to find out~! Though there is a hint of it (the first grain of suspicion, actually) in the first chapter of _Memoirs_.** ***winks**

 **Bodyguards**

 _I had one job..._ Rido thought, feeling a bit dazed. _One job that I managed to fuck up anyway..._

"The war was inevitable." Takeo-Ojii states, walking over to the couch and swatting Kaa-san' head. It was crude, but effective in snapping her out of her funk.

" _The fuck was that for, Takeo!?"_ Kaa-san hisses out, hand rubbing her head.

Tou-san's lips twitch for a moment, before cutting in their argument. "I agree with Chichi-ue on that- we're more than prepared for the war. I'm more concerned with how they got past our security detail. That Organization's 'bodyguards' were armed with Anti-Vampire weapons, and they had the Kiryu girl with them."

 _Kiryu?_ Silver hair and tired, violet eyes flashed through her mind, then turns on one detail mentioned. _Girl? Shio's sister perhaps?_


	183. Next

**Next**

"She was one of the few who survived the skirmish." Tou-san murmured. "Unluckily, our own guards were incapable of surviving the skirmish."

Takeo-Ojii sighs tiredly and rubs his eyes.

"Those were _my_ men." He states quietly. "Rido, the next guards will be trained by you instead. It seems my training wasn't enough to keep them alive."

"Understood." Rido answers gravely. _Here's to hoping I don't traumatize them. If I do, how will they protect my parents once I start attending their meetings?_


	184. Survive

**Survive**

"I'll be needing more agents." Rido informs them. "And the help of the Magic Division to disguise them."

 _I need more eyes- more ears, if we're going to go through this._

She also neglected to give Shio a familiar- something that should be rectified once the dawn breaks. Her agents should be able to recognize her familiars on sight by now. She'd be surprised if they couldn't.

"Takeo-Ojii, I trust Aido-san's training will be taken up a notch?"

"It will be." Takeo-Ojii grunts. As part of the History-Keeping Division, Nagamichi will take part of any and every battle he can to record the events. As will the other agents of that department. Those peeps _should_ be fine- and even if Nagamichi had never been apprenticed Takeo-Ojii, he should have been able to survive this war. The agents there train alongside the military, courtesy of Ori-sama and Takeo-Ojii of course.


	185. Characteristics

**Characteristics**

Rido steps out the room, letting her elders hash out plans in private. Today, she has a team to choose.

"Asato," Rido says she enters her office, "Get me the files of all personnel in our Department and the Military Division. Find the ones left forgotten- ones no one will miss."

She sits in her chair as Asato leaves to do her bidding, and contemplates the the characteristics she wants as her parents' bodyguards. Someone smart and charming would be nice- observant enough to catch even the tiniest of details. Asato actually fits that category, but she can't afford to lose him. Someone who disappears in the background- even in a forgotten group- like that one pale blue haired guy from the basketball anime ( **A.N.: Kuroko no Basuke- I do not own.)** ,would be nice too...


	186. Habit

**A.N.: Thank you for your kind thoughts Daughter of Trickery~! I'm very happy about your comment!**

 **Habit**

Shio woke to Rido in his room, sitting on a chair by the window sill, going over some documents.

"Morning..." Rido greets quietly. "I would have made you breakfast, but your sister is here."

He grunts in acknowledgement, then sits up. Coughs rack his body for a moment and once he recovers, he slides a leg out, frowning thoughtfully once his toes touch the floor.

"Did you hear?" Rido giggles as he stands and proceeds to make his way to her, a blanket in his hand. When he sets the item across her shoulders, she catches his hand and presses her lips against it. Rido does it slowly, deliberately and very, _very_ careful not to feed. He blinks at her action and plops down next to her seat, gently dragging her off it and setting her against his side. A habit of comfort they've been doing for weeks now- ever since that day. " _War_ has come."

She can feel his body stiffen, then forcefully relax. Rido's smile turns a bit forced.

 _"Did you know?"_ She says again, cuddling further into him. He doesn't say anything, so she says again. " _Did you?"_

"My sister..." He starts quietly, slowly as if he's practiced this speech, "has always _obsessed_ for recognition she already has... This war... should satisfy it."

 _Obsessed? ...Don't tell me she-_

"You knew?" Rido asks, quiet and calm.

"I suspected." He muttered, arm tightening for a moment. Rido didn't even know she tensed until that moment.

"I don't trust you with her." She says, eyes narrowed and her smile gone. "I refuse to entrust you to someone who murders her fellow kind to incite war... Be _mine_ , Shio, so that I can protect you better."


	187. Loyalty

**Loyalty**

The last thing she is asking of him, is to betray his family. She can never do that to him. Plus his loyalty his family- i.e. his sister, considering the fact he never mentioned their parents- is already established. No, she just wants him to move in with her.

Rido can't guarantee this town will be left alone. She also can't guarantee zero collateral damage.

If that girl can betray the people she should trust to watch her back on a daily basis, Rido doesn't want to know what she would do to her own _brother_ if she finds out about their daily meetings.

Shio's gaze is heavy, the violet filling her vision. He slowly his open mouth. _"No."_


	188. Benefit

**A.N.: To Sameen- I know right~? To be honest, I was actually gonna use that scene as an excuse to get him into the Kuran Manor, but while I was imagining/typing the scene, the Shio in my mind looked at me horrified and my Rido kicked me for him and said, "The fuck are you doing!? It's not that simple!" And I was like, "Damn it! This changes things!"**

 **Benefit**

 _"Shio..."_ Rido hisses shakily. "No."

"I ground her." He admits softly. The little girl stiffens, her mind flashing back to that day. She doesn't know how far _she_ would have gone, if her family wasn't there. "I will not leave."

"You don't have to leave." Rido says slowly, the words tasting like acid. "But at least- _at least_ \- let me protect you."

Shio stops short there.

"I can't always be here, but my familiars can." She adds, desperate to keep him alive. He's the only non-family member she approached ( _Well, it was actually the other way around.)_ without any intention of using him. Just as the same with her.

Rido knows their... _companionship_ has no benefit to Shio. If the Hunters found out about this, they would have realized pretty quickly she won't give him anything useful and would have killed Shio for consorting with her kind.


	189. Whisper

**Whisper**

Shio gives Rido one, painfully slow, nod.

"...I-" She quickly covers his mouth, standing and leaning close to his ear.

"She's awake." Rido murmurs. Her eyes are dead serious for once, with no sign of warmth in them. She slowly lets her hand down and whispers, "She's coming up here. I'll leave this with you."

She summons a King Cobra and watches in bemusement as it wraps itself around his arm. Rido pats Shio's cheek softly, warmth and concern overtaking her cold gaze and leaves the room through the window, taking to the rooftops with a concealment spell already spilling from her lips. Like a good ninja.


	190. Friend

**Friend**

 _"What the hell is that!?"_ The shriek causes Rido to stop on a branch, wincing as her vision changes from the forest to Shio's hallway outside his bedroom.

 _"A King Cobra."_ Shio states bluntly, his voice giving Rido more comfort than she thought possible. _"Her name is Riku."_

 _Nice word play with my name there, Shio_.

 _"Where in the world did you get a King Cobra!?"_ She asks in bewilderment. Silver hair cut short into a short bob, and narrow lavender eyes, her blood is unmistakeable.

 _"A friend."_ He replies bluntly. He cut her off by adding, _"I told her about the war earlier, so she went home to spend some time with her family. Riku had been her parting gift."_

" _Oh_..." She smiles lightly. " _And who might this..._ friend... _be?"_


	191. Disbelief

**Disbelief**

 _"Her name is Ran."_ Shio replied without missing a beat. _"R_ _an_ _Rikudo. She's some snake caretaker."_

Rido could barely stop herself from choking in disbelief.

 _"How come I've never heard of this... Ran?"_ Shio's sister pouted. At which, Shio paused. He doesn't look at his sister, but from where Rido is, she could see how utterly _blank_ his eyes became.

 _"You would have..."_ Shio said quietly, though he made loud enough for his sister to hear. _"If you even bothered to read my letters to you."_

She took a step back. Her expression of contemplation turning enraged. It was gone as soon as Shio shot her a warning glance then went downstairs. Rido tightened her hold on his arm and slithered further up his limb. The silver-haired man absently patted her head, guarded eyes turning soft for a fleeting moment before he turned his attention to cooking.

 _"Don't worry Rido,"_ He murmured almost inaudible in his words. _"I never actually sent any letters."_

If Shio hadn't been covering for her, Rido would have called his method cruel. But for now, she'll call it effective.


	192. War

**AN: To Yuki Suou- Well, what can I say~? They just click!**

 **To Daughter of Trickery: I look forward to bringing Haruka and Juuri in too~! But we must be patient (fists hair and screams out into ocean in impatience) because I have a _lot_ in store for Rido and it might be a while before the parents would consider it _safe_ to get pregnant and give birth to a new Pureblood.**

 **War**

War... Rido had been through one in her previous life.

She was in the military at the time, and when it started, she wasn't at the front lines and couldn't experience the one thing that excited her the most: the messy, gory deaths she would have seen of her allies and enemies- the free food she wouldn't have had to hunt.

She was a Linguistics officer, so she was mostly in an office translating this and that documents and sending them to the right offices. She would have raged if she hadn't chosen this job. But then, one battle cost them many, _many_ soldiers. Enough to for her to have a legitimate reason to switch departments and be sent to the front lines.

Oh, _oh..._ The moment she saw the naive, innocence die out of someone's eyes had been tantalizing. The fear and adrenaline that ran course through their bodies _enticing_ her to feed. She flourished in those moments.

Sending her enemies to despair and her allies to victory and hope. It had been _delicious._

Suffice to say, she had a bit disappointed when the war ended. _Just a bit._


	193. Barrier

**Barrier**

Rido knows she'll be stuck in her office during this war- plus her age. She will _never_ go to the front lines- not unless the war drags on for a _century_. Quite literally too, mostly because it takes her a little less than century to mature.

And while the thought of fighting and killing and whatnot excites her... Rido has, _absolutely,_ no intention of letting the war drag that long. She wants this over in the fastest, most brutal way possible. To crush the Hunters so efficiently, _so_ _effectively,_ they will never forget it.

She won't let this insolence pass, especially because one of their fellow allies betrayed her own Organization. And oh, the thought of informing them of this fact _had_ crossed her mind. But Rido has never been nice. Plus, even if she did manage to get the girl to confess, the Hunters would just chalk that up to her using some kind of Pureblood voodoo on one of their own and add that to their list of reasons to fight them.

Rido can't even _touch_ the girl, too. Shio is an effective barrier against Rido, which she's is absolutely sure he knows and is probably one of the main reasons why he stayed. She can't even hate him for it. Rido would have done the same for her family.


	194. Reading

**Reading**

"Asato, send for Tori Matoi, Ren Fuuga, Matsui Harumi and Ichigo Saotome." Rido orders, rubbing her temples to get rid of the headache. So many profiles, _so many documents._

Now, Rido likes reading to an almost obsessive degree- she never went to social media on her phone, she was too busy reading light novels and fanfiction. If there was no internet, she read a book. She was an addict, and stories were her fix. But documents? _Nonfictional_ reports on people? It was an uphill against passing out from boredom.

At least with reports from her agents she had to think on the next best course of action that won't (somehow) clash her other other orders and with the other field agents. This one... _ugh_...

This is it. Rido is _done._ She can handle paperwork- she just can't even with _this_ kind of paperwork. So she heads out and stops Asato from fulfilling her orders.

"I'm bored!" She complains, _conveniently_ (not) forgetting she's a superior talking to her minion and continues, "We're doing a fucking stake-out on these people instead!"


	195. Spy 1

**Spy #1**

Tori Matoi is an officer from the Intelligence Department. Unfortunately, (or rather, fortunately for him) he had been in the generation before the ones she trained. So he only knew the horrors of it from rumors.

Rido has forgotten _why_ his profile stood out from the others.

If she reads it correctly- and she has it on her, along with all the other profiles- it writes, "Agent Matoi is flirtarious and will attempt to charm any lady that comes across his way."

This... _this is not flirtatious._

Rido's face might freeze from the deadpan expression it turned into, but she can't bring herself to care. Especially, _especially_ since the man she's observing is currently trying to sneak into the ladies' side of the hotspring. He got in actually, but one of the ladies there finally noticed him, and punted him out.

Asato is seething beside her, but she chose to ignore it and follow the path Matoi had been thrown in.

Rido whistles in appreciation when she realizes the lady had actually punted him near a human town. Then, when he enters the town nonchalantly, she realizes the report, is actually wrong.

Tori Matoi doesn't flirt with every skirt out there, he flirts with every pair of breasts out there. Rido is now watching him flirt with a fat guy with man-boobs, _considerable_ man-boobs. This guy, just reminds her of a grown-up version of Aladdin from Magi **(AN: I do not own.)**.

The only difference is that he actually doesn't seem to get physi- oh. _Oh kami._

He's- He's actually- Matoi is legitimately groping Fat Guy's man-boobs.

Rido would have felt offended on behalf of those who have/will have boobs, but she suffices, Asato's expression of, "This is a cockroach I fully intend to squash." is enough for both of them. She actually applauded when Fat Guy punched him.

Tori Matoi is a resounding _No._

"Asato," Rido says, face blank and voice eerily calm. "Have him arrested for sexual harrasment and sexual assualt."

"With pleasure, Rido-hime." Asato practically purred out.


	196. Spy 2

**Spy #2**

Ren Fuuga is another agent from Rido's department. His generation came _after_ the one she trained.

He's small and scrawny. Quite frankly, he looks like a girl. He's also clumsy. Very, _very_ clumsy. She doesn't mind that, but the report also says, "Agent Fuuga is withdrawn and uncooperative on missions."

Rido needs to judge that for herself. So she sent him out on a mission with Garei Toya's group. Ren Fuuga is _not_ uncooperative. He is _inquisitive_ and often loses himself to his own thoughts. But he somehow makes the questions he asks sound-

"Why do I have to go with him?" Ren Fuuga asks Toya. He had just been ordered to scout the area for potential threats. "How are our abilites and specializations compatible with each other?"

"Because..." Toya says, his voice a tired drawl, "While your obsevational skills are exceptional, you lack the capabilities of defending yourself. It is dangerous out there, what with the war and all."

"How are you sure he is capable of defending me?" He asks.

Rido can see, from his core, Fuuga is simply asking and in no way doubting his fellow agent's ability. His core looks like the way a child's would when asking his or her parent why the sky is blue. Curious and wanting to hear their thoughts. It sure didn't come out that way though.

"We had been trained by Rido-hime to be beyond competent." Toya says, his drawl edging onto scathing. "If anyone of us are incapable of protecting you from even a herd of Vampire Hunters, she'll take us back under her wing again and break us until we're better. No one wants that."

His way of questioning things can be rectified. If she does it right, Rido might just be able to cure his doubts against his superiors too.

"Well," He says lightly, "then that means you can it see it too right?"

"The Vampire Hunter spying on us twelve meters away to my right?" Toya points in the direction blandly. "Or his friend fourteen meters behind me?"

"No." Ren Fuuga states. "The one up there."

He's pointing at her.


	197. Spy number 2

**Spy 2.5**

Rido smiles cheekily and waves. Once her presence is registers, Toya lets out a torrent of expletives- which _rude_ \- and immediately sets out to kill one of Hunters while his team kills the other.

Rido and Asato leap down the tree they were spying from, unperturbed by the exposure. Once the five finish, they kneel in front Rido.

"How funny..." Rido says, lightly. "To think my brightest agents were incapable of detecting my presence. Perhaps remedial lessons are in order."

Of course, she's just teasing but the boys don't need to know that. Rido had been cloaking everything _but_ her appearance, and the only ones who'd be able to notice her must have a sight as keen as a Pureblood's and an attention to detail on par with geniuses. And this is someone whose rank is a little below average...

 _How interesting..._

"Kehe...kehahahahahahaha!" She doesn't know why but this is really funny! Once her laughter dies off, she glides over in front of Fuuga and tilts his face up so she can take in his features. Curly, tan-colored hair and earthy brown eyes make a sweet-natured looking face. Rido's smile widens, edging onto feral looking.

"You passed." She purrs, her childish voice making it sound _so_ wrong. She almost coos when he pales and starts shivering. "Meet me in my office in seven days."

She steps back, turning to start making her way over to the next profile.

"Please come at dawn, Agent Fuuga." Asato informs the trembling man before following the girl.


	198. Soldier 1: Thunders

**Soldier 1:** **Thunders**

Matsui Harumi is an above average soldier with a below average appearance (in vampire terms: pretty but not a heart-breaker). Rido has noticed him a few times, walking here and there in a hurry.

Rido doesn't know why he draws her attention. She doesn't even know _how_ he drew her attention.

Harumi is a quiet and polite vampire with his fellow soldiers, if a bit distant. He comes to work on time and he leaves immediately once done.

It bored her, so after two days, Rido approached him in disguise.

"Oof!"

"Ah, I'm sorry mister!"

A lady with dirty blonde hair and hazel eyes timidly look at the man, gaze looking a bit tearful. She can see the moment he pales once he notices her presence. Rido may be under guise at the moment, but she doesn't bother hiding her Pureblood presence. She wants to see how he'll react.

"I-It's fine, Ma'am." He murmurs, gaze submissively on the floor and frame slightly shivering. His fear is thick in the air. "It was my fault- I wasn't looking where I was going. I apologize."

Rido internally frowned. This isn't normally how an Aristocrat acts around a Pureblood. Usually, they'd be vying for attention. _Something's going on..._

"No..." Rido places her hand over her chest, noting the barely hidden flinch. "I was at fault. My apologies for the trouble."

She brought her other hand up to clasp them together and leaned forward. Asato had been ordered to stay hidden during the course of this interaction, but she still feel his gaze burning on the back of her head.

Rido sees Harumi stiffen like a rabbit, can hear his heartbeat like a series of thunders booming in her ears. She carefully does not narrow her eyes and says, "I'd like to make it up to you somehow... But you seem a bit busy. I'd like to meet with you at the Castle garden once you're done, okay?"

He pales even further- his skin turning a bit blue. His heart beats erratically and Rido smiles kindly.

She'll have to look further into this.


	199. Soldier 1: Bad Thoughts

**Soldier 1: Bad Thoughts**

Once the night ends, Rido sends a familiar in her stead while she watches the soldier from a distance.

...Harumi actually ditched her. Rido doesn't actually know how to feel about that. On one hand, it'll lead them to the problem sooner. On the other... Rido has never been ditched before in her two lives.

Should she marvel that someone has the guts to ditch her- disguised as she is? Or should she feel put out like a normal person would be? Or maybe apprehension at the possible notion the person Harumi might be ditching her for is a powerful and high-ranking Pureblood?

Whatever it may be, she can't really help but admire his guts.

Maybe his guts will be as tough as he indicates they are, if she cuts him open to take a look...

 _Ah! Bad thoughts! Bad thoughts!_

Rido can't fall back into old thoughts. It might just lead back to bad habits. Bad habits that got her killed in her previous life. There's a reason why she's been studiously avoiding blood- as much as she could outside of training anyway.

Rido doesn't really know what to do with Harumi. The fascination certainly hasn't waned off. No, it merely increased once she noticed his odd behavior. The only ones who act like that around her are her former students (for a legitimate reason, not that she'll ever admit it outloud) and he isn't one of them.

It's- _Dare I say it?-_ almost cute... But that certainly does _not_ retract from her concern over his behavior. Ah well, he has her full attention now. And she isn't going to let him get away until she's seen _everything..._

... _Almost_ everything.


	200. Choices, Choices

**I'm kind of wondering if I should rewrite this as a "new" fic with longer chapters, do the same as the former but leave this fic for viewing or just go on as is. Regarding the first two choices I've given you, note that I _will_ change the story enough that it might as well warrant an AU warning of my original fic. I'll have a poll up on this matter by June 1st and it'll be up for the entire month. As for you peeps without an account? Just type your answer down in the comment section and I'll be sure to add it to the count!**


	201. Poll

**The poll is up! For any of you peeps without an account, the choices are numbered, so I would recommend (need) you to put down the number you choose in the comments so I would know EXACTLY which one you're actually saying. If you can't see the poll on my profile... *shrugs* I don't know what to do. I don't think polls show up on the app, and I would recommend actually going on the website if you aren't already there (make sure it isn't the mobile version either). If it still isn't there... I'm actually more likely to catch your concerns in the comment section than PM.**


	202. Results

**The Poll is done with the results of:**

 **Rewrite it as a "new" fic and leave the original for viewing: 25**

 **I don't really care- I could go either way: 4**

 **Just go on as is: 3**

 **Rewrite: 2**

 **The majority picked the "new" fic option! *Throws confetti everywhere***

 **I'll have the new fic up by next Sunday, so look forward to it!**


End file.
